Chapter 5
1138 Words
JUNIPER'S POV
I didn’t plan to do it. I didn’t weigh the optics or the consequences. I just moved.
One second, I was frozen in the hallway, and the next, I was shoving the door open and marching inside.
“Get away from him.”
Richard Sterling turned, clearly not expecting any company. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I said, stepping between him and Lance. “Touch him again, and I’ll press charges. I don’t care how many buildings your name’s on.”
Lance’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Juniper—”
“No,” I snapped. “I won’t stand here and watch this like it’s normal. It’s not.”
Richard gave a small, amused scoff. “Who is this child?”
“I’m your son’s wife,” I said, lifting my chin. “And I don’t care how many tabloids you’ve bribed—I’ll go public in a second. In case you forgot, I'm an Internet slut”
His jaw twitched, but he backed away. “You’re making a mistake, girl. You don’t know what you’re stepping into.”
“I know abuse when I see it.” I said. I was very scared. For all I know this man could ruin my life in a few minutes but I wasn't going to stand around and watch this.
Richard stared at Lance for a long, loaded beat. “You’ve always needed someone to fight your battles. It's just like I said,you're good for nothing “
Then he walked out, his scent trailing something bitter and poisonous behind him.
The room fell into silence.
I turned to Lance,helping him stand up,adrenaline still racing through me. “Are you okay?”
“You shouldn’t have done that.” He said, pushing my hands away from him.
“I had to.”
“No, Juniper. You wanted to. Because you love playing the hero. Because it feeds your narrative.”
I blinked. “My what?”
“The poor little office girl who took down a Hollywood monster,” he spat. “Isn’t that what you tweeted into the void for? Attention?”
My stomach dropped. “You don’t mean that.”
“Don’t I?” he said coldly. “You don’t know me. You don’t understand what that man is capable of.”
“Then explain it to me.”
His laugh was humorless. “No. You don’t get to demand my trauma like it’s public property.”
“I’m not—Lance, I care.”
“It’s a business arrangement, Juniper,” he snapped. “You’re not here to care. You’re here to smile, look pretty, and play pretend. That’s all.”
He turned away, shoulders rigid.
And just like that, the warmth I'd started to believe in cracked down the middle. What was I thinking? He is Lance Sterling. The man I hated,the man I wanted nothing to do with. And just when I think maybe he's not what I think him to be,he always ruins it. He keeps reminding me why I was here.
I walked out without another word.
The city air hit me like a slap the next morning . I had left the penthouse to go for a stroll. I didn't know where I was going—just that I needed space. The penthouse felt like a lie, and my role in all of this? Like a mask glued too tight.
I ducked into a nearby park, half-heartedly scrolling my phone, pretending I wasn’t shaking. Assuring myself it doesn't matter,that I don't care.
That’s when I heard the voice.
“Junie?”
I froze.
No one had called me that in years.
I turned slowly.
Jennifer.
My sister.
Wearing oversized sunglasses and a beige trench coat like she was trying to be incognito, but the real giveaway was the nervous smile.
“What—what are you doing here?” I asked, too stunned to sound angry. Yet.
“I... I saw the articles. The pictures,” she said carefully. “You and Lance. I had to see for myself.”
“Well,” I said, crossing my arms, “Here I am. Very married. Very happy. You can go now.”
“Junie—”
“Don’t call me that.”
She flinched. “I know I messed up. I know I left. But you have to understand—Mom was so sick and I couldn’t—”
“She died, Jennifer,” I hissed, voice cracking. “Three months after you disappeared, she died, and I was the one holding her hand when she took her last breath.”
Jennifer went pale.
“I begged you to come home. I begged you,” I continued. “And you sent a goddamn voicemail.”
“I was scared,” she whispered.
“You were selfish,” I shot back. “And now you show up because I'm suddenly trending? What do you want—a selfie? A follow-back?”
Tears welled in her eyes,I wasn't going to fall for that. I cried more than she did when she left. “I just wanted to see you. To try again.”
“No. You don't get to walk away from my life and walk back into it anyhow you like. You don't get to do that” I said, turning away from her.
I couldn’t do this. Not now. Not when everything else in my life was unraveling.
I didn’t look back.
I should have.
An hour later, I came back to the penthouse, hoping Lance would still be locked in his room so I wouldn’t have to face him.
Instead, I found the opposite.
He was in the kitchen.
With Jennifer.
She was laughing—laughing—her hand lightly resting on his chest.
His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. His head was tilted down, listening intently as she leaned in and whispered something in his ear.
And the worst part?
He didn’t pull away.
He didn’t flinch.
Just stood there, letting her touch him, letting her exist in a space I thought—stupidly—was mine.
I stepped back before they could see me.
How was she here? How did she know because they weren't talking like they just met. The doorman wouldn't have allowed her in not unless…unless,she knew I or Lance. They were talking like they had known each other for a while. I know she was an actress,but I didn't know she was this close to Lance. Last I heard she was signed with Brown's Media.
My lungs tightened. My throat burned.
It shouldn’t matter. Our marriage was fake. A sham. But my sister doesn't get to touch my husband. Fake marriage or not.
And Lance didn’t stop her.
Was he already tired of me just one month into the marriage?
- Writer
