His face was still, perfect as usual, and a small serene smile formed on his lips, as it usually did when he was talking to the love of his life."Thank you." Kylie simply replied, lowering her head in embarra.s.sment even though she knew no one was listening. "I thought you had a meeting today?" Kylie asked as she checked her wrist.w.a.tch, a Rolex wrist.w.a.tch that Ethan had gifted to her on her birthday.
"Yes, but you are more important than my work." Again Kylie blushed at Ethan"s sensual voice proclaiming her importance for him
"Are you trying to please me with your words?" Kylie murmured questioningly.
"Of course not. Not just with words." Ethan"s calm voice oozed over her senses.
Kylie frowned at his statement, "What do you mean?"
Ethan smiled, "Nothing. Hey, I have to go. Work calls. I"ll talk to you later." With that, he hung up the phone.
After hanging up, Ethan Parker held his phone for a while and made a decision. He dialed Elliot, "Book two tickets to Saint Martin for me."
***
Khloe was in a constant state of anxiety and depression. The darkness seemed to swallow her whole wherever she turned. Her reputation had been shattered after the release of that video. Every news and entertainment site had dug deep into that video, identifying her, the location, the man, and what was said during the interaction. Even the people dancing around them had come forward trying to bask in the fame.
The male in the video was identified to be a director of a movie in which Khloe was playing the lead star. Everyone was cursing Khloe on the Internet and defaming all her social media accounts so much so that her father had to block all of them. Promptly after the release, she had been let go from almost all of her contracts. Even her friends and boyfriend had abandoned her.
On top of that, the fans she had hired had come clean and confessed that Khloe had been the one to pay them in order to disgrace Kylie Finch. They announced that they had shut down the Instagram fan account and publicly apologized to Kylie. All the evidence pointed towards Khloe, and after looking at all the comments on the Internet, Khloe knew it was over for her.
Alice"s heart ached at the pain her daughter was going through. Cradling her in her arms, Alice tried to comfort her, "Khloe, stay strong. Even if you lose everything, you still have your family. You still have Aiden. Don"t blame yourself. This is NOT your fault!"
Khloe looked up into her mother"s eyes and realized she was right. She had lost everything, but she still had Aiden, and she would make it d.a.m.n sure Aiden remained hers.
***
Aiden had been holed up in his room for hours. As Khloe"s boyfriend, Aiden was deeply humiliated. He could not believe how low Khloe had stooped. Everyone tried to comfort him, but he could not help but feel guilty at how he had treated Kylie. He had dumped Kylie for what? Someone like Khloe who cheated on him just for a role in a movie? Someone who was willing to degrade herself like that?
Despicable was the only word that came to mind when Aiden recalled the disgusting video.
There were four other actors, two male, and two female, shooting alongside Kylie for Extreme Luxury. When Kylie saw who they were, her jaw dropped open. Three of them were internationally acclaimed models who were all over Instagram. Kylie instantly felt self-conscious as she looked down at herself, what was she doing here?
The photographer apparently felt the same way she did as soon as he saw her, a deep frown formed on his face.
"No, no, no, what is this?" He asked in a thick Italian accent while pointing towards Kylie. "Too stiff, like a stick! Loosen up, loosen up!" He demanded loudly. While Kylie looked great, she did not have much experience with modeling and posing naturally. She was more of an actor than a model, really.
Faith dragged her over to the side away from the pestering photographer and exclaimed, "He"s right, Jules! Loosen up, and you"re too stiff. Give yourself a shake and let your body move. Remember, we are not acting here but rather trying to be as natural as possible."
Kylie nodded in understanding and tried to block out everything else so she could just act natural.
Kylie was given a grey fit and flare lace dress. The silky material slid down her body and caressed her every curve. The stiffness of the lace gives it form just where she needed it while the sleeves were sheer, and the neckline was an elegant scalloped round neck. This was paired up with a rose grey ankle strap sandal with a three-inch block heel. Kylie was thankful that since marrying Ethan, she had gotten good practice in carrying herself in high heels; otherwise, she would be laying flat on the floor after her first step.
Next came makeup, which Kylie was excited about. However, the makeup artist scared her. She was a short, plump girl but seemed like someone who took no s.h.i.t from anyone. Kylie decided not to say a word and simply watched as the girl worked her magic. To complement the grey tone of the dress, the makeup artist gave her a golden-bronze smokey eye with a gray liner. When the whole look was completed, Kylie had to give it to the girl, and she definitely knew what she was doing.
Standing among the other actors and actresses, Kylie looked beautiful, but her stance gave away her lack of confidence. The photographer, whose name was Mike, walked over towards her and commanded, "This shoot is about "determination." No matter how old you are, if you work hard for something you want, you can be the most beautiful person. When you stand in front of the camera, be confident. Be powerful. Go after what you want!"
Kylie was surprised at his intensity and nodded quickly. "Okay."
Mike sighed and turned around, muttering to himself. Kylie glowered in anger as she thought she heard "It"s no use" from his lips. Yes, it was true she had no experience in modeling, but that did not mean she was an imbecile.