Chapter 19: Time.
"It's bad. Really bad. Everyone is calling you a home wrecker. You're what today's kids would call canceled." Sarah tells me and I groan.
"That doesn't sound good." I say, rubbing my forehead.
"How does the Pepsi team feel about this?" I ask her, dreading her answer.
"They actually don't mind it. You and Zachary are in the news and the more you guys get talked about, the more the Pepsi label is talked about. After all, you guys had the affair while shooting the Pepsi campaign." Sarah says and I feel like puking.
"Affair? Don't use the word affair." I tell her.
"But that's what it was, Valarie. For someone who is so self aware, you lack clarity sometimes." She says before she hangs up.
I open Instagram and I see my name in the blogs. I am not surprised. Apparently, Sabrina went on Instagram live and told everybody about how I slept with Zachary and ruined her relationship.
I am currently trending on Twitter.
Love that for me.
"Not me waking up to this news of Valarie Stone ruining Sabrina Iran's relationship. First she faked a miscarriage. Now she's wrecking homes. She'll do anything to be talked about and stay relevant." One of the tweets reads.
Wow.
"Valarie Stone just wants attention. She's probably unveiling a new building soon. She just wants to be in the blogs." Another tweet reads.
"Zachary Henderson is such a heartthrob, I don't know why he would stoop so low to mingle with the likes of Valarie Stone. She's nothing compared to Sabrina. Men are embarrassing." Another user says.
To say I'm surprised by these comments would be a lie.
The media and the whole world don't know anything about Zachary and I. After all, we dated when we were still teenagers in a small town. No one knew about that, so obviously they don't know how long we've known each other.
I'm not trying to justify my actions here, I'm just saying that the media isn't aware of the situation between Zachary and I.
"Valarie, your break is over. I need you on set." Becca tells me and I nod.
We're currently in Paris. Sabrina followed us here. I've been avoiding her since. There's a lot of tension on set, everyone is staring at me with judgment in their eyes.
I am wearing a bathing suit, so is Zachary. We're filming on a beach.
"Okay, I need a running shot. Zachary I want you to chase Valarie." Becca says and he nods. She yells action and I start running. I hear the click of the camera as Becca takes pictures. Zachary catches me and he spins me around. I let out a loud giggle before he puts me down.
"Great." Becca says before she walks off and starts talking to her crew.
I start walking towards the beach chairs.
"Can we talk?" Zachary says and I ignore him.
"Babe, come help me apply sunscreen on my back." Sabrina says from the beach chair she's lying on.
I sit on the chair beside her and she rolls her eyes at me.
Zachary applies sunscreen on his hand and he rubs it on Sabrina's back. He stares at me as he massages the sunscreen in her back.
I look away and stare at the water.
"That's it guys. We're finally done with this commercial. It was nice working with the two of you. We're having a party at a club tonight, so pull up if you want." Becca tells us, slinging her camera around her arm.
"I'm gonna be there. I definitely need a break." I say, tying my hair up.
"You definitely need a break from ruining relationships." Sabrina says and I scoff.
"Well, if you weren't such a bitch, then he wouldn't cheat." I snap back and Becca chuckles beside me.
"Valarie, that's enough." Zachary says, standing up.
"Fuck you." I yell in his face, before I turn around and walk to the parking lot.
Tears start running down my cheeks as I hasten my steps. Sighting the car that brought me here, I get in and the driver zooms off.
***
"I'm going to get hammered." I tell Becca, who is sitting beside me by the bar.
"I support that." She replies and we share a laugh.
"Two martinis please." I order and Becca looks at me.
"That's it?" Becca asks me.
"Calm down tiger, we have to ease into it. This is just the pre-game." I tell her and she nods in understanding.
"Hey Beks." Romeo says, hugging Becca.
Romeo was the stylist for the Pepsi campaign.
"You made it." Becca says, smiling at him.
I know that smile.
She likes him.
I'm going to give these two lovebirds some privacy.
"I'm gonna go dance." I tell Becca and she nods.
Moving towards the dance floor, I sway with the music. I move my body to the beat. This tall dude walks up to me and I start dancing with him, we dance for a while before my legs give out. I stumble back to the bar and I order a glass of sex on the beach.
I collect my drink and start walking towards an empty seat. I sit on the chair and I down the content in my glass. My eyes start closing and I fall asleep.
I am later awoken by a hand in my dress. I don't speak, I just act like I'm still asleep.
Who the fuck is this?
I want to yell, but what if he has a knife? Or worse, a gun?
I feel his hand going up my thigh and I stop it. Opening my eyes, I stare at the pervert that has his hands in my dress. It's the guy I was dancing with. I give him an elbow to the balls and he lets out a loud scream.
Asshole.
I get up and run to the bathroom. Placing my purse on the counter by the sink. I check the time on my phone.
5:30am.
It's morning already?
I was knocked out pretty bad.
Opening Instagram on my phone, I scroll through my feed and I land on one of the posts by a gossip blog.
"America's Heartthrob, Zachary Henderson, proposes to longtime girlfriend Sabrina Iran in Paris. Link in our bio for pictures of the couple."
I click the link in their bio and I see a picture of Zachary on one knee. The suit he has on is tailored to perfection. It looks like an Armani suit. There are red balloons everywhere and a flower arrangement behind him, that spells out "MARRY ME?"
Sabrina is a crying mess. She's wearing a short red dress as she covers her mouth in shock. The next picture, Sabrina shows the ring. It's a heart shaped diamond ring. The blog says that the ring is a Tiffany and Co. original and it costs two million dollars.
They finally went public with their engagement.
I see droplets of water on my screen and I look up. The roof isn't leaking, so where did the water come from? Staring at the mirror, I touch my face and I realize that the water came from my own eyes. I'm crying and I didn't even notice. Turning on the tap, I wash my face and clean it with my dress.
I immediately regret my actions, as I see that my makeup has rubbed off on my dress.
Perfect.
Music is still playing on the other side of the door and I don't want to go back in there.
I order an Uber and I wait until the driver gets here before I leave the toilet. I search for Becca, but she's not here anymore. She probably went home a while ago.
I walk out of the club and I see the Uber parked by an alleyway. I try my best to cross the road as normal as possible, but I fail at that. My wobbling heels barely let me walk. I take my shoes off and get into the Uber.
The sun starts to rise as the car makes it's way down the streets of Paris. It's a beautiful sunrise.
It's kind of funny how a person's life could be going to shit, and the world just keeps on moving. The sun keeps rising, the earth keeps rotating, mother nature doesn't give a fuck and time waits for no one.
It's a cruel cruel world we live in.