by C. J. Anaya
Eager to reassure him, she lifted herself up on the tips of her toes and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. “Consider it saved.”
She turned to walk away, but not before taking note of the smoldering look in his eyes. Smiling to herself she quickly headed to the plane with the rest of the contestants.
“I saw you in the limo with Brody again,” Cambria said, grabbing her arm and giving it an excited squeeze. “That’s like five times that he’s ridden alone with just you, isn’t it? So exciting.”
“He’s definitely singling you out,” Charlene said, coming up on her other side. “I’m totally devastated for myself, but I think you two make a great couple.”
“You mean you guys don’t want to tear my eyes out and possibly push me down a flight of stairs?”
“Oh, we totally do,” Cambria said.
“Yeah. We’re plotting something evil even as we speak, but we need to behave like we’re happy for you to throw you off our trail.”
Midge looked from Cambria’s innocent expression to Charlene’s teasing one and then all three of the girls broke out into peals of laughter.
They were a few feet away from the plane when out of nowhere several reporters with cameramen trailing them surrounded the three girls and started asking questions in accented English.
“Madelyn Knightly, is it true that you only came on the show to get your father to give you your trust fund back?”
Another reporter followed up with, “Isn’t it true that you were never here for Brody and have no interest in him at all?”
“Where did you hear this?” Midge asked. Her stomach took a nose dive, causing her to feel clammy all over.
Cambria and Charlene moved a few steps away from her.
“What are they talking about?” Cambria asked, suspicion evident in her tone.
“It’s nothing,” Midge said as she tried to move forward toward the plane.
Another reporter stepped in front of her, blocking her path, flinging question after question at her with the vicious force of a hale storm.
“You’re really in it for your daddy’s millions and possibly Brody’s. Does your boyfriend have any idea that he’s been duped into believing you care for him?”
“I need you to move out of my way, please.”
She tried to inch forward, but the reporters surrounded her, closing in and cutting her off from Cambria and Charlene, who, to their credit, were doing their best to worm their way back in, pushing people out of their path to get to her. Midge felt the air leave her lungs as the questions and accusations continued to pummel her.
She was a gold digger, a liar, and a fake. She hadn’t joined the show for the right reasons. She didn’t have Brody Prescott’s best interests at heart. She’d tried to avoid this kind of slanderous exposure all of her life. Being the center of attention with the camera exposing her faults, her weaknesses, her secrets, basically her entire life was a nightmare she’d repeatedly awoken from during her teen years. Nothing was sacred or represented factually when viewed from the public eye.
She reached up to her face, getting ready to push her glasses higher onto the bridge of her nose when she remembered that she wasn’t wearing them anymore.
No more hiding. Isn’t that what she had decided? She didn’t think she could follow through with it. She couldn’t parade her life on live television and expect to be understood any better than she had when meeting people in private. Misunderstanding Madelyn Knightly was all anyone ever tended to do.
Just as she was ready to slump to the ground and curl up into a tiny ball she heard a familiar voice yelling for people to move back. Soon Brody’s supportive arm circled around her shoulders, giving her the strength necessary to meet the reporters’ glares head on.
“None of you are authorized to be here, and you’re especially not welcome if your intention is to harass the contestants,” he shouted.
One of the more tenacious reporters shoved his mic in Brody’s face. “Mr. Prescott, were you aware that Ms. Knightly only came on the show in order to retrieve her trust fund from her father so she could continue to finance her reckless lifestyle?”
“Reckless lifestyle? What are you talking—” Midge started, but Brody pulled her to him and cut her off.
“No comment. You all need to leave before you’re arrested. Security has been called.”
“Mr. Prescott, how can you defend someone who is clearly here for money rather than love? What if she intends to steal your billions as well?” The reporter reached out and grabbed Midge’s shoulder, tugging on her clothing as he said, “How will this lowly college student afford her fancy clothes and party lifestyle if she doesn’t have the money to fund it?”
Midge watched in complete shock as Brody gently pushed her aside and then snaked a fist out, clocking the reporter square in the face. The man went down like a heavy sack of moldy potatoes.
“I think the real question you should have asked yourself is how I might react if any of you harass my girlfriend.”
With that, he put his arm around Midge’s shoulder and herded her toward the airplane as the other reporters continued to shout out the same questions and accusations, albeit from a healthy distance.
Midge allowed Brody to situate her in a comfortable seat at the very back of the plane and then ordered her some lemonade as he began rubbing her arms and shoulders, intuitively aware of the numbness settling in with the shock of the encounter.
“Your first run-in with the paparazzi is never easy, Madelyn.” He accepted the drink from the stewardess and lifted it to Midge’s lips, encouraging her to take a sip.
“It’s not my first,” she barely managed to get out.
“You’re right. I’d imagine you’ve had quite a few run-ins with the media considering who your father is. The sugar will help with the shock. Even though they didn’t physically attack you, I’ve found that words are powerful enough to do some serious damage to your mind and body either way.”
Midge accepted the drink and allowed the cool liquid to wash away the bile creeping its way up the back of her throat.
“I never wanted this,” she choked out. “I’ve never wanted any of this attention. I…it’s my worst nightmare.”
Brody took her in his arms and rubbed his hands along her back.
“I don’t know how those reporters got that information, but I promise we will find a way to set this right. It’s simply a misunderstanding. Information twisted to make you look bad. It’s what the media does.”
“I know.” Midge nodded. She knew only too well how powerful the media’s words could be, and how capable they were when it came to destroying not only someone’s image, but someone’s life with just a few misrepresented facts and subtle suggestions. Her mother was a casualty of this and the perfect example of someone who hadn’t succeeded in handling the constant press, rumors, lies, and public humiliations. She self-medicated and ruined her life in the process.
“I just can’t believe this is all public knowledge now. No one is going to believe I actually care for you.”
She hardly realized what she’d just confessed until Brody squeezed her hand and lifted it to his lips for a soft kiss.
“You care for me, Madelyn?”
Apprehension gripped her, wondering if Brody would laugh at her for admitting how she felt or if he would simply stop pursuing anything with her now that he had won her affections, her worst fears realized.
Somehow he understood the need to reassure her, stroking her cheek as he said, “I hope eventually you’ll see that caring for me will never be a mistake, not when all I can think about is holding you in my arms and taking care of you for the rest of our lives.”
She blinked her watery eyes at the underlying meaning behind his words, unable to formulate a response at the magnitude of it all. His jaw went slack at just how candid he had been and he backed up a little, giving her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry if I come on too strong most of the time. I can’t seem to hold back anything whe
n you’re near me.” He quickly stood, failing to meet her gaze. Midge’s heart nearly broke in two as she fought to produce the words necessary to reassure him that his admission hadn’t frightened her. It had worked as an antidote for any fears or insecurities she’d been holding onto in regards to their budding relationship. And hadn’t he called her his girlfriend in front of all of those cameras and publicly acknowledged his interest in her while defending her against their harassment?
Brody had tirelessly worked to convince her of his feelings for her, coming on the show for her, chasing her all the way to Hawaii and then Brazil. Every word and action had proved time and again that he cared for her and only her. She wasn’t a passing fancy, a publicity stunt, or a play for more Hollywood connections. He wasn’t interested in Corbin Knightly’s daughter, he was interested in Madelyn Knightly, and that was all there was to it.
“I’m going to discuss this situation with your father and see what he wants to do about it.”
He moved to leave, still refusing to make eye contact with her. She quickly reached across the seat and grabbed his hand.
“Brody, if you plan on taking care of me for the rest of our lives you should know that my favorite movie ever made is The Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezel, and that I absolutely have to be eating chocolate chip cookies with popcorn while I watch it.”
His eyes flashed to her in surprise and then the most wonderful smile broke through his stormy expression, like a burst of sunlight through an overcast sky.
It wasn’t a declaration of her true feelings for him, she knew, but she didn’t know if she was ready yet to simply blurt out that her feelings for him involved a long term commitment beginning with a white dress and ending with “until death do us part”.
“That’s good to know.” He squeezed her hand and then released it with a wink, turning to walk down the aisle to where her father was being apprised of the altercation by a few crew members.
Cambria sneaked into the seat next to her and Charlene stood in the aisle.
“You okay?” Cambria asked.
“I’ll be fine. I guess it was naive of me to assume that my private affairs would remain private once I joined the show.”
The girls remained quiet for a moment. Midge felt their burgeoning curiosity concerning the accusations leveled against her, but before she had a chance to defend herself, Cambria placed a hand on her arm and spoke.
“Look, Midge, I have no idea why you decided to come on the show—whatever your reasons it’s really none of our business—but I don’t believe that you feel nothing for Brody. It’s obvious you care for him as much as he cares for you.” She let out a sigh of regret, and Midge felt a little sad at the thought that Cambria had grown attached to Brody, though she could hardly blame anyone for doing something smart like that.
“It doesn’t matter how this all started. What matters is that you’re here for the right reasons now. So no judgments from this corner,” Charlene added.
Midge felt tears prick the backs of her eyes as she took in two women who, for all intents and purposes, she probably should have been at odds with. Their situation didn’t exactly encourage budding friendships, but they were developing nonetheless. She couldn’t help but feel grateful that Cambria and Charlene were so supportive.
“Thank you. I’m glad you didn’t let the reporters sway your opinion of me.”
“I just wish we knew who leaked that information to the press. Your father would most likely have them kicked off the show for good. Less competition for us,” Charlene said. She smirked at her own joke.
Unfortunately, Midge had a very good idea who might have leaked that story to the press. This move had Felicia Davenport written all over it.
“I think the best way to approach this possible catastrophe is to meet it head on,” Knightly stated.
Brody hardly heard what the man was saying, his thoughts focused solely on the sweet reassurances Madelyn had gifted him. Instead of shutting down and freezing him out, she had given him a reason to believe that his serious pursuit of her was something she really was ready to accept and even enjoy.
“Brody. Brody, I just asked you a question!”
Brody ripped his thoughts from his sweet librarian and focused on the situation at hand.
“I’m sorry, Knightly. I’m worried about Madelyn.”
“So am I. So let’s make certain her reputation isn’t dragged through the mud by this obvious breach of privacy. I think you and Midge need to have a ‘tell all’ segment where you sit down with Les and air this whole thing out.”
“You want us to admit that she came here strictly for her trust fund?”
“Well, obviously her behavior toward you has warmed up considerably, as I knew it would. So in this case, honesty is going to be our best policy. Deny it and no one is going to believe you, but admit to Midge being resistant and then you finding her here and winning her over…well…its the stuff of fairy tales, Prescott. It’s the best way to handle this situation.”
“Do you think Madelyn will agree to this?”
“Of course. Just because Midge hates the spotlight doesn’t mean she can’t handle it. The only reason she broke from me, my company, and Hollywood in general is because of what it did to her mother.”
“What do you mean?”
Knightly shook his head as if regretting his decision to open his big mouth.
“I did love Celeste, Midge’s mother. I loved her very much, but my ambitions and my career took precedence, and I didn’t see how the limelight combined with Celeste’s insecurities worked to wear her down until it was too late. She was doing drugs and abusing alcohol, refusing to get the help she needed or even being willing to accept help from me. Eventually, she overdosed, and we weren’t able to resuscitate her before the lack of oxygen did some serious damage to parts of her brain. She hardly recognizes us when we visit her.” He ran his hands through his hair and let out a tired sigh as he puffed out his cheeks in frustration. “Midge saw it all, though. Everything. And even though I took her everywhere with me to get her away from the influence and dysfunction of her mother it still had an adverse affect on her. Then the closer she and I became the more others gravitated toward her to get to me. She has a lot of reasons to hate the entertainment industry, but that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t have been an enormous success if she had ever decided to pursue it.”
Brody refrained from commenting on the other reasons Madelyn had broken ties with the industry or even why she had been involved in her father’s work to begin with. These two definitely needed to sit down and communicate a little more concerning their past hurts and disappointments.
“You think she can pull herself together enough to give an interview about her personal life and feelings where I’m concerned?”
“She’s tough, my Midge. She’ll do it, if not for herself, then for you.”
“I can’t help but feel like this entire situation is all my fault. Madelyn is going to have to face some of her worst fears, and all because I wouldn’t eliminate her.”
“Do you believe in destiny?” Knightly asked, peering at him with an intensity that belayed the offhand way in which he’d asked the question.
“I believe our own decisions create our destinies for us.”
“Then make these next few decisions with Midge count, Brody. She’s so close to letting go completely and putting her faith and trust in someone who actually deserves it. I need you to put your faith and trust in her and her abilities now.”
Brody nodded. “I can manage that.”
Knightly smiled. “Good. I suppose as far as a son-in-law goes, you’ll be tolerable.”
Brody raised his eyebrows. “So glad you approve.”
Midge sat in a chair next to Brody with her hands clenched at her sides and her stomach churning in a bubbling meld of anxious agony. She understood the necessity of this interview, and as far as TV interviewers went, Les Lassiter seemed to be relatively harmless, but she was still sitting in f
ront of the lenses of several news cameras in a studio in Germany rather than standing behind them. She felt Brody reach for her hand as they were given the “On Air” signal.
She whipped out the smile and confident air that she’d perfected for the cameras and squeezed Brody’s hand, but the fear and anxiety still lurked just below the surface.
“We’re here tonight with bachelor billionaire and owner and CEO of Shackled and Loving It, Brody Prescott. Brody and Miss Madelyn Knightly, have agreed to discuss some of the more personal issues recently revealed on the show. Thank you both for joining me today.”
Midge and Brody murmured their thanks for being invited, and the interview was underway.
“Madelyn, there are vicious rumors circling around that you only came on the show to secure your trust fund from your father. Is there any substance to this sensational news?”
Midge took a deep breath and forced herself to let go of all thoughts of privacy, pride, or self-preservation. Time to face her phobias and be done with it.
“The rumors are one hundred percent true, Les.” She heard a gasp from the studio audience and waited for the initial commotion to settle before continuing on. “You see, I walked away from my trust fund several years ago to pursue a career that didn’t necessarily align with my father’s own designs for me. I felt that with my scholarship and my own initiative, I could make my way in life without my trust fund.”
Les gave her a friendly nod of understanding. “If you were intent on making your own way in life why is the trust fund on the table now?”
“Well, as fate would have it, the funding for my scholarship dried up at the same time my father had a cancellation on the show. He was in a bit of a bind, Les, and he needed someone to fill in. He offered me a solution to my worrisome scholarship issue if I agreed to be on the show for one day.”
Les’s eyes narrowed in thought as he uttered his next question. “Mr. Prescott, were you aware of this arrangement between Corbin Knightly and his daughter?”