Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81401 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
“What do you need, Z?”
“Food and for Hayden and Freddie to come over. We need to have a meeting.”
He nods. “I’m on it.”
I head back upstairs and look through my blinds again. Not only has the media sustained its presence outside my home, but also it seems that fans are starting to gather. Unfortunately, a press release is going to have to be issued, or I can let the speculation grow. It won’t take long to confirm what they already know, especially once I file divorce papers.
Speaking of divorce, if I wasn’t certain before, I am now. One incident I might be able to forgive, but not two, and not one with a woman that works for us. With one last look outside I head back downstairs to find Darian sitting at the island and chatting on his phone. He smiles at me as I pass by and pull out the drawer where I thought I could keep my phone hidden. Powering it back on, I scroll through the contacts until I find the one for my agent and press his number.
“TMZ says that you and Van have separated?”
“Doesn’t anyone say hello anymore?” I ask Asher Greene, the man who secured our first record deal.
“Hello, Zara. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I need a lawyer. The best.”
“So the rumors are true?” he asks.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but if it’s that my husband can’t keep it in his pants, then yes.”
“Shit,” he mutters.
“Yeah.”
“Hang tight, and I’ll send one to your house.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if I go there?” I ask.
“It would be, or you can have her come to you. This would save you from having to make a public statement later. I’m going to send the best celebrity divorce attorney. This will be easy.”
But not painless. “Send her,” I say before hanging up. At this point, I don’t even care about the damage done to Van’s reputation because he clearly didn’t care about any of my feelings when he was sticking his dick in whatever pussy he could find. If he didn’t have any respect for me, why should I for him?
levi
Six
Never in my life have I been the guy who stands against the wall and watches everyone. It’s never been in my personality to sit back and observe. Front and center is how I like things, except that isn’t who I am now.
At this moment, I’m observing. I’m paying attention to the way my former in-laws dote on Willow. I can’t remember the last time the McCalls came around. It was probably right about the time I won my first Grammy, long after they wrote Iris off as a teenage mother.
When we—you bet I went with her—told her parents that she was pregnant I expected them to be pissed. Hell, my parents were livid but told me to man up and make sure Iris and our unborn baby were taken care of. What I didn’t count on was her parents kicking her out of the house. They didn’t even give her a chance to pack before her daddy’s boot went right up her ass as she walked out of their house. I caught her before she could hit the ground and took her promptly home. My parents opened their door wide for Iris and never cast any judgment on her for being pregnant or on me for knocking her up.
Yet, her parents are in mourning, and they’re making sure every single person around them knows that they’ve lost their daughter. The very same one they hadn’t spoken to, unless it was to borrow money, since she was eighteen.
I hadn’t wanted to tell them, but my moral compass forced me to make the call that I dreaded more than anything. On the phone, they acted like they had no idea who I was, but once they arrived in Los Angeles, they expected the star treatment, demanding that a limo pick them up and that they stay in the best six, not five-star hotel money could buy. Too bad they don’t have any money, and I knew this would fall onto me. I was tempted to be a dick, but Barbara told me to suck it up for three days, and once the funeral and reception were over, the Austins could go back to pretending the McCalls never existed. Easier said than done. They wasted no time filling Willow’s head with lies about how it was because of my fame that they’d been kept apart.
My parents are across the room from them, and every so often I can see my mother throwing daggers at my ex-mother-in-law. The whole situation is comical since my mother is the nicest person you will ever meet. She even smiles when people tell her they don’t like a new song of mine.
Barbara nudges me and hands me a fresh bottle of water. I want something harder, but not in front of my girls and definitely not in front of the in-laws. The last thing I need is for them to get any notion that I’m not a fit parent. It doesn’t matter that they’ve been absent since before Stormy was born. They wouldn’t hesitate to take me to court for custody.