Stuck With Mr A-Lister

Chapter 16

Sienna’s POV

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I wasn’t expecting to see him there.

Leo Hawthorne, in my restaurant.

Sitting in my booth, sipping on my signature cocktail, like he belonged there.

Like he hadn’t just walked back into my life and flipped it upside down.

I hadn’t meant to confront him. I really hadn’t.

But the words had just spilled out.

Maybe it was the stress. Maybe it was the fact that, no matter how hard I tried to pretend otherwise, Leo had always been a storm in my life. Unpredictable. Chaotic. Impossible to ignore.

And now here we were.

Again.

---

Midnight Thoughts & Search Engine Hauntings

I was in bed now, sprawled across the pillows, my laptop balanced on my stomach.

I knew it was a bad idea.

I did it anyway.

I typed: Leo Hawthorne.

The search bar auto-filled before I even finished his name.

Leo Hawthorne scandal.

Leo Hawthorne career downfall.

Leo Hawthorne ex-girlfriend Macy tell-all interview.

I exhaled, clicking the first article.

"From Hollywood’s Golden Boy to Tinseltown’s Trouble Magnet: The Downfall of Leo Hawthorne."

I skimmed through the paragraphs, my eyes snagging on the words that mattered.

PR disaster.

Career on the rocks.

The Macy breakup tweet that went viral.

The paparazzi punch.

The declining box office numbers.

God.

I shut the laptop with a snap and pressed my fingers against my temple.

I should’ve stopped looking. Should’ve let it go.

But something about seeing it all in black and white, laid out for public consumption, made my chest ache.

Because this wasn’t Leo.

Not the Leo I knew.

The Leo I knew had been unstoppable. He had a fire in him, a reckless energy that made people want to follow him wherever he went.

The Leo I knew had been on top of the world.

And now?

Now, he was barely holding on.

---

Unfinished Conversations

I tossed the laptop aside and lay back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling.

Leo’s words from earlier still echoed in my head.

"Because it’s you."

I had expected excuses. A PR-friendly explanation. Some Hollywood bullshit about how fake dating me wouldn’t be worth the effort.

But instead, he said that.

And I didn’t know what to do with it.

I turned onto my side, pulling the blanket up to my chin.

For the first time in a long time, I didn’t know what came next.