Chapter 57

Chapter 57

The

e next morning, I woke up to find a text from Lily telling me to check out a link that she had sent me. I groaned, figuring that it was something about some new celebrity wedding trend. Still, I decided that it was best not to ignore her if she thought that it was important enough to text me so early in the morning.

When I clicked on the link. I saw that it was an article from a top-ranking, internationally syndicated newspaper claiming to have an official statement from Andrew regarding his relationship with me. I was immediately awake.

Scrolling through the article, I finally found the statement:

Crystal Blanchard, Head Wedding Planner of Ever After Weddings, is planning my daughter’s wedding. She is a family friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

I interact with Ms. Blanchard platonically and professionally for the purpose of planning my daughter’s wedding, Regarding the picture in question, we had just been out to dinner to go over the wedding details, and Ms. Blanchard had fallen ill, I took her home, and she thanked me for my kindness with a hug.

I would thank everyone for giving Ms. Blanchard her privacy. She is not my next Luna, and I do not appreciate those who start these kinds of rumors just for the purpose of selling their tabloids. Thank you for your cooperation.

My heart stung. I knew that Andrew and I were only friends, but to see as much said in his own words cut me to the core. Tears threatened to trickle down the edges of my eyes, but I wiped them away quickly.

It’s for the best, I told myself. It’s nothing but a nightmare to be in a relationship with him.

Then I added, in a quieter me ntal voice, But he’s supposed to be my mate…

“Get what’s yours,” Susan said firmly.

She could be so confusing sometimes. One moment, she was telling me to not go after him. The next, she was telling me to chase him down like an injured buck.

Just as I was deciding to let the matter be and get ready for work, my phone went off. Andrew was calling via video chat. I answered immediately.

“Hello?” I said softly.

“Hi, Crystal,” Andrew replied. “I don’t suppose that you’ve read the news this morning?”

I nodded

“Yeah” My voice was flat as I spoke.

“So, you saw my official statement?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“You need to know, I didn’t mean what I said-”

“It’s all right if you did. I know that I can’t expect someone like you to care about someone like me-”

“Crystal, of course I care about you! If everything that I’ve done up to now doesn’t prove that, then I don’t know what will.”

I smiled slightly, but I still was not convinced. Instead, I just let him speak.

“I care about you a lot. That’s why I had to say what I said to the papers. Otherwise, the papara zzi wouldn’t have ever left you alone, and-”

He stopped and looked away from the camera.

“And what, Andrew?”

“And others would have threatened you, Crystal. Worse than your stalker.

I paled. I couldn’t grasp the idea of someone threatening me worse than Bob and Lisa had already done. They could have killed me with their stunts!

Then it occurred to me.

“Do you think that someone would try to kill me if they thought that I was going to become your next Luna?”

Andrew closed his eyes and nodded. After a moment, his eyes snapped opened, and he stared fiercely at me through the phone.

“I won’t let that happen to you. I’ll protect you. If that means that telling the world that we’re just friends-no matter how I actually feel about you-then so be it.”

My smile grew genuine. Terri was right; he really did care about me.

“I care about you too, Andrew.”

Andrew smiled back, then sighed.

“Unfortunately, this also means that we can’t see each other for at least a few days,” he said, “just so that the rumors can die down.”

Reluctantly, I nodded.

“I understand.”

“I’ll contact you as soon as my advisors tell me that it’s safe.”

“And what if that’s not for a long time?”

Andrew’s smile became mischievous..

“Then I might have to go against their advice and see you anyway.

Andrew’s plan seemed to work. The rest of the day, I was not bothered by any pap ara zzi or Alpha King fans. I could still smell Jeffrey nearby, but he always remained out of sight and out of the way, allowing me to go about my daily business without any disturbances.

Terri tried to bug me about the official statement, but I refused to comment on it. I talked with Lily about it at lunch, but I left her with nothing more than the feeling that it was complicated-because, frankly, it was. I did not talk to anyone else about the rumors or the official statement at all, and it seemed to be an ordinary day with only a couple clients side-eying

me.

As I left work that night, a chill went up my spine. Something didn’t feel right. I told myself that I was just sensing Jeffrey on my tail and forced myself to continue on home.

Still, I couldn’t push that feeling away even as I drove to my apartment complex. I felt like a deer being stalked by a pack of hungry wolves. Helpless, endangered, alone.

The farther I drove from civilization, the more heightened the feeling grew, and the more isolated I became. Soon, there were almost no other cars driving on the street except for mine and two behind me, and neither of the cars behind me were deviating from my trail.

Ttook a deep breath. One of the cars had to be Jeffrey. The other…I didn’t know what the other car could be, but surely Jeffrey would be able to protect me from it

To be safe, I drove a zig-zagging route away from my apartment complex, hoping to lose at least one of the cars, Neither budged.

I cursed but knew that I could not put off going home any longer. I finally parked in the apartment complex’s parking lot and watched as the other two cars did the same.

At first, I contemplated staying in my car until one or both cars left, but I finally decided to take my chances and hoped that Jeffrey would get to me before any attacker.

The second I stepped out of my car, someone grabbed my wrists and tied them together. A second person blindfolded me while a third person gagged me.

“Don’t move! Don’t move, or I’ll shoot her!” one of the men shouted as a gun was pressed into my back.

“We will NOT be taken!” Susan declared.

My heart pounded. I struggled against my binds as my nails elongated. I growled deep in my throat..

No, I would not be taken. I was tired of being helpless. I was tired of being the victim.

If these men were going to have me, then they were going to have a fight on their hands.

“Quit moving, bi tch,” the same man snarled.

Someone hit me upside the head with the butt of a pistol, then I sl*pped into unconsciousness.