Victoria Vale
Jamie's POV
Victoria’s team was already in full motion. As expected
Listen to me, Victoria snapped. This dies today. She said, pacing round her office.
We need a narrative that will kill this before it grows teeth. A female lead the public will eat up. Aiden needs to be seen with someone believable— someone who screams chemistry without effort.
“She’ll arrives tonight,” one assistant responded quickly, as if she was trying to get into Victoria’s good books.
“Perfect”! Victoria added. Her tone brisk as she clicked through her tablet. “Leona Marlowe. Perfect smile. Rising star. Harmless. The media will devour her.”
“She needs to be seen with him at the hotel first,” Victoria added. “Tie it to the first leak. Make it look like she’s the one he’s been seeing all along.” If we give the media a woman, they’ll stop sniffing for a man.
“Paparazzi are already tipped,” another assistant said excitedly. Her eyes glued to the iPad as she hurriedly scrolled through the contents, with hungry eyes.
After Aiden left to prepare for the evening, I stayed home, trying to let the silence settle my nerves.
Hours later, a knock pulled me to the door.
Victoria.
I was genuinely surprised. “Victoria? To what do I owe this visit?” I said, my voice calm but edged.
She stepped inside like she owned the place, her heels clicking loudly and placed a crisp check on my table. A sum large enough to buy silence, maybe even loyalty—at least in her world.
The number made my chest tighten—but not with temptation.
“Take it,” she said coldly. “And disappear. Buy yourself a car. Travel the world.. anything you want. This is your last warning. This ends now. My son’s future is not negotiable and it’s certainly worth more than… whatever this is.” She said mockily, rolling her eyes.
I stared at the check for a long moment before meeting her eyes. “Do you think I’m here for your money?” Or you think you can buy me off, because I’m just his assistant? I let the disdain drip from my voice.
Her lips pressed thin. You’re not just his assistant.
“I think you’re a distraction he can’t afford.” You’re his weakness. And in my world, weaknesses are liabilities. He cannot afford you right now.
I grinned while stepping closer, I lowered my voice. “I’m here because your son can’t stop wanting me, because I am the only one who sees the real man behind your golden puppet, no matter how many perfect lies you build for him.”
Her jaw tightened. “Be Careful, Mr Cross. One mistake from you, one slip, and he loses everything. Think about that before you touch him again.”
Her words stung like a slap. Victoria wasn’t just his PR manager. She was his mother. And to her, he wasn’t just a son. He was an asset—a star she’d polished and presented to the world.
I didn’t flinch. “You’ve spent your whole life controlling him, Victoria. He has always done what you wanted him too. But the part of him that matters? The part of him where he doesn’t have to hide who he is? That’s mine. And it always will be.”
Just as she was about to leave, I pressed further—
“I am always careful” Victoria, I said softly. “Maybe you should be too”
Her gaze lingered on me, cold and calculating. Then, with a slow exhale, she placed the check on my table anyway.
“Keep them,” she said softly, almost like a warning. “You’ll change your mind eventually. They all do.”
And just like that, she was gone, leaving the faint scent of expensive perfume lingering. She left without saying another word.
Soon it was nighttime, and I drove to the hotel with Aiden’s clothes for his “date.”
The lobby was chaotic, paparazzi everywhere. Upstairs, Aiden was in a crisp shirt, ready for his performance. His expression was blank, he looked exhausted.
We locked eyes briefly, but he said nothing. We were strangers in public, although the air between us hummed with memory. He needed to look untouchable, while I on the other hand needed to disappear.
Finally, I cleared my throat. “Your jacket”
“Thanks.” He said,as he stretched out his hand and collected it.
Leona arrived minutes later, smiling warmly, radiant and polite. I introduced myself, while gently playing the part of the polite assistant.
“You must be Jamie”. Aiden mentioned you. It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said warmly.
I shook her hand.
“You too,” I replied, forcing a small smile. Yeah. I help him with scheduling and …whatever he needs”
“That sounds important,” she said with a hint of teasing.
“I assume you’ll be taking good care of him tonight.”
She laughed softly, sensing the edge in my tone but choosing to ignore it.
We chatted lightly. She was professional, sweet.
She wasn’t cruel. She wasn’t the villain. She was just part of the machine that chewed people like me up and spat us out, but I could see the pity in her eyes—she knew this game as well as I did.
The hotel suite felt less like a room and more like a live production set.
Stylists buzzed in and out, garment bags unzipped and hung across the mirrored walls. Makeup artists moved with their brushes, airbrushing away any hint of imperfection from Aiden’s face. Hairdressers whispered in hushed tones, adjusting and readjusting strands that already seemed flawless. Someone fussed over a tray of colognes, debating which scent would best say masculine, yet romantic.
And then there was Leona—seated on a velvet stool, her legs crossed, as three people circled her like a living sculpture. Victoria stood nearby, her arms folded, checking out every detail. From her smoky eye to her strappy heels, Leona was being transformed into the perfect media-worthy girlfriend.
I stood in the corner, unnoticed as always. I was just the assistant in a room full of stars.
But my eyes never left Aiden.
He looked… breathtaking.
And so utterly not mine.
I adjusted his cufflinks for him, just like I always did, and when our fingers touched, he flinched—like even that was too dangerous now.
A few minutes later, Aiden slipped into his jacket and Leona looped her arm around his.They headed downstairs, ready to put on an award winning performance for the world to see. The lobby erupted in flashing lights.
Cameras clicked instantly, catching every false smile, every staged gesture.
I stepped onto the balcony, to clear my head and get some air—but I was rather welcomed by the scene below.
From up there, the flash of cameras lit up the street like fireworks. I watched Aiden step out with Leona, his hand brushing hers, his perfect smile on full display, like his world revolved around her.
This sight burned through me—jealousy sharp,hot and quiet in my chest. He could play the star for them, but I knew the truth underneath the fake smiles and rehearsed gestures.
The man they adored in golden lights was the same man who whispered my name in the dark—and he was mine in every way that mattered.