Chapter Four: The Morning After
1141 Words
Nicole had never liked mornings after glamorous nights.
The makeup came off.
The designer gown went back into its garment bag.
The applause faded.
And reality, as always, returned before breakfast.
She stood barefoot in the kitchen of her Upper East Side apartment, waiting for the coffee machine to finish brewing. The soft hum filled the silence while the first rays of sunlight slipped through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Unlike the Edward mansion where she’d grown up, her apartment felt… real.
No staff hovering nearby.
No endless stream of business calls echoing through hallways.
Just a quiet space she had carefully made her own.
A bookshelf overflowing with novels.
Fresh lilies on the dining table.
Vinyl records stacked beside an old record player she refused to replace.
It wasn’t extravagant.
It was home.
Her phone buzzed against the marble countertop.
Emily.
Nicole answered without looking at the screen.
“Good morning.”
“You’ve seen it?”
Nicole frowned.
“Seen what?”
Emily went quiet.
“You haven’t opened the news?”
“I’ve been awake for exactly twelve minutes.”
“Nicole…”
Something in her friend’s voice made her stop pouring coffee.
“What happened?”
“Turn on the television.”
Across the city…
Jayden stood in the private gym of Hunter Tower, finishing the last set of his morning workout.
Sweat dripped from his forehead as he dropped the dumbbells onto the rubber flooring.
His trainer handed him a towel.
“You’ve been distracted.”
Jayden wiped his face.
“Have I?”
“You nearly dropped a hundred-pound weight on your foot.”
“I was thinking.”
His trainer laughed.
“That’s dangerous.”
Jayden smiled faintly, but his thoughts drifted back to the balcony.
The camera flash.
The anonymous phone call.
The photographer, who vanished before security could react.
Something about it didn’t feel random.
His phone vibrated on the bench nearby.
Ethan.
Jayden answered immediately.
“Morning.”
“Don’t leave the gym.”
Jayden frowned.
“What?”
“I mean it.”
“Ethan, what’s going on?”
There was a pause.
Then his cousin sighed.
“Someone leaked photographs from last night’s awards.”
Nicole reached for the remote with unsteady fingers.
The morning news was already playing.
“…the Star Crown Awards dazzled audiences across the country…”
Clips from the ceremony flashed across the screen.
Actors waving.
Musicians performing.
Executives posing for photographers.
Then—
Nicole’s breath caught.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
Not the balcony.
The ballroom.
She and Jayden stood several feet apart, looking directly at each other across the crowded room.
Nothing inappropriate.
Nothing scandalous.
Yet there was something impossible to hide in the image.
The way they looked at one another.
Even the news anchor noticed.
“Social media users have been speculating about this photograph since early this morning, with many commenting on the unusual moment captured between Edward Entertainment executive Nicole Edward and Hunter Global Media president Jayden Hunter.”
Nicole muted the television.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
They hadn’t been caught.
Not exactly.
But someone wanted people to notice them.
Her phone rang again.
This time…
Her father.
Jayden stared at the same image on Ethan’s phone.
“I’ve seen worse.”
“You haven’t seen the comments.”
“I don’t read comments.”
“You should today.”
Ethan handed him the phone.
Thousands.
Then tens of thousands.
Every minute, more appeared.
They look like they’re in love.
Look at the way he’s staring at her.
There’s definitely history between them.
Am I the only one looking at the chemistry?
Jayden exhaled slowly.
People were guessing.
Nothing more.
Still…
Someone had deliberately chosen that photograph.
Out of hundreds taken that evening.
Why?
Richard Edward stood inside his office before anyone else had arrived.
The morning newspaper lay open across his desk.
The same photograph filled half the entertainment section.
He looked at it for a long time.
His daughter.
Jayden Hunter.
A single frozen moment.
Anyone else would see two executives.
Richard saw something else.
Recognition.
Familiarity.
Affection.
He reached into his drawer and removed the sealed envelope he’d received the previous night.
He hadn’t opened it.
Not yet.
His thumb rested against the edge.
Should he?
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
His executive assistant stepped inside.
“Good morning, sir.”
Richard slipped the envelope back into the drawer.
“What is it?”
“Miss Edward is here.”
Richard glanced at the clock.
She was nearly an hour early.
That never happened.
“Send her in.”
Nicole entered wearing a cream-colored pantsuit, her hair neatly pinned back.
She looked composed.
Richard knew better.
“You wanted to see me?”
“I was going to ask you the same question.”
She closed the office door behind her.
“I saw the news.”
“So did I.”
An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
Finally, Richard picked up the newspaper.
“What do you think?”
Nicole looked at the photograph.
“I think someone caught an unfortunate angle.”
“Do you?”
She held his gaze.
“Yes.”
Richard studied her face carefully.
For years, he had been able to tell when Nicole wasn’t telling him everything.
Today…
He couldn’t.
Or perhaps…
He simply didn’t want to believe the possibility forming in his mind.
He slid the newspaper aside.
“Be more careful.”
Nicole blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“People create stories out of nothing.”
He folded his hands together.
“You carry the Edward name.”
“So every move you make reflects on this company.”
“I understand.”
“I hope you do.”
Nicole nodded politely before standing.
“Was that all?”
Richard hesitated.
For one brief second, he almost asked the question burning in his chest.
Are you seeing Jayden Hunter?
Instead, he simply said,
“Yes.”
Nicole left the office.
The door clicked shut.
Richard remained seated, staring at the empty space where she had stood.
Then, very slowly…
He opened the desk drawer again.
This time, he picked up the mysterious envelope.
He tore it open.
Inside was a single photograph.
Not from last night.
It was older.
Much older.
The edges had begun to fade.
Richard’s expression changed instantly.
His hands started trembling.
The photograph showed two young people laughing together outside a university library.
One was a young Richard Edward.
The other…
Was Marcus Hunter.
On the back, someone had written six chilling words.
“Some friendships never truly die.”
Richard’s face drained of color.
Only four people in the world knew that the photograph existed.
Two of them were already dead.
So who had just sent it to him?
And more importantly…
Who still knew the truth?
- Writer
