"Grace..."
"Um..." I looked back at Stella. "I know you must be really scared... um, that's how I felt before. But... you should make sure everything will be okay... If you really want peace and to be free from problems." I tried to reassure her without mentioning that I had never slept with Chris. She'd probably call me an old virgin.
She sighed, leaning back on chair and staring ahead.
"I'm embarrassed," she said.
"No need to be... The doctor will understand your situation, the doctor won't judge you," I replied, patting her shoulder. "We can go tomorrow, or the day after, or this afternoon... but right now, you should eat. I know you're probably hungry, and besides, I can't finish all of this," I added, trying to change the subject to cheer her up.
She nodded, while I returned to my seat across from her and continued breakfast as she went on talking about her husband. It all felt strange, crazy, and again, I couldn't believe something like this was happening to her. She's beautiful, has a modern fashion sense, and I'd thought she knew how to please a man.
After breakfast, I let her rest in my bedroom, as there's only one room here. It made me uncomfortable since I'm not used to sharing a bed, but I couldn't exactly ask her to leave.
So, I just lay on the sofa in the living room, chatting with some friends and scrolling through social media.
"Grace!" The voice startled me, and I quickly sat up, seeing Stella rushing toward me with her phone. "Did you know about this? Logan... Logan Maverick, the trending model, entered this building with a girl, even carrying her!" She excitedly showed photos on social media from an account with no profile picture.
I stared, remembering how Logan insisted on carrying me all the way to my apartment unit, with some people watching us. I hadn't thought they'd photograph us and post it on social media... with such exaggerated captions.
"Logan Maverick apparently has a girlfriend, and they were seen intimately entering an apartment."
"Grace, that's you... How could you be with him?"
Stella's question made me push the phone away, standing up with my mind racing. Yes, this was a mess, especially if Mrs. Katherine Maverick found out... even misunderstood. I couldn't imagine her scolding me. No... that couldn't happen!
I sat back down and grabbed Stella's phone.
"I need to contact them, ask them to delete this inaccurate news!" I said, grabbing my phone to search for the account that posted the photo.
"Are you dating him? How did that happen? You didn't even tell me!" Stella kept questioning, and I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Grace... you're amazing. You managed to date a handsome model who's... even much younger than you. I never imagined meeting him, though I'm starting to admire him... but here you are dating him!" She laughed with excitement.
But now wasn't the time to respond to her comments. I needed to get that account to delete the photo before it spread any further. But no luck—I couldn't message them directly, and I was limited to one message only.
"Damn...!" I exhaled heavily, leaning back and massaging my forehead. "What if they refuse to delete it? What if they ignore my message?"
"Grace!" Stella suddenly slapped my thigh, making it feel almost too warm.
"What!?"
"Please explain what happened between you two?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.
I sighed, looking at her closely. "Nothing happened; it's just that I work cleaning his apartment every morning... well, not his, but his brother's apartment that I usually clean every day, though he's staying there now. And last night, we happened to meet at a cafe... I fell and fainted, and he helped me. He took me to the hospital, but then I asked to go back here instead. So he dropped me off..."
"You mean... he carried you when you entered the apartment or the entire time from the hospital... from the car?" she interrupted before I could finish explaining.
"I insisted on walking, but he suddenly picked me up... I don't know why," I said, recalling Logan's handsome face and his caring attitude, though it pained me to remember that he's so much younger than I am. "And... I shouldn't take it seriously... It was just an act of kindness because he felt sorry for me," I added, then quickly stood up.
Stella stood up, too. "This is strange; he must be doing this because he's interested in you!"
I gave a faint smile as I walked to the bedroom.
"Grace, you should take advantage of this!"
"What? What could I take advantage of?"
"Of course, this news! These photos could make you famous too... Or maybe you could use his attentiveness to get closer to him!"
"Oh, Stella..." I stopped near the wardrobe and turned to face her. "Put that idea out of your head. He's nice to me because he feels sorry for me!" I insisted, but she laughed as she walked to the bed.
She sat on the bed, looking at me with her arms crossed.
"Grace... A guy like him would be extremely careful, especially knowing he's famous... But... look, he carried you when you weren't that hurt, right? You weren't too sick? He could've asked an assistant or security... but he didn't. He chose to carry you himself and let people take pictures of you together... If it were just out of pity, it doesn't make sense!" She rambled on, and I thought back to Logan's exaggerated gestures and his admiration of me. But again, his age and his status as a famous model left me feeling insecure.
"Grace... He doesn't have a girlfriend; I know that," she continued, but I immediately grabbed a dress from the wardrobe, saying, "He's only twenty-two, and we're worlds apart... He's handsome, a model, while I'm just a housekeeper, almost thirty... and I don't have any style..."
I picked out a knee-length white dress with sleeves and turned back to Stella.
"Look at me... Imagine how we'd look if we were together," I said, then walked toward the bathroom.
"I think it would be nice..." She followed me, but I ignored her, shutting the bathroom door and starting to undress.
"You two would look unique... Whatever happens, I'll be the first to support your relationship... if it happens!" she kept chattering behind the door.
I simply stayed silent with a faint smile, suddenly picturing being with Logan. Imagining how we'd be together, possibly chased by paparazzi, or fans randomly snapping our photos without permission, then spreading them on social media, gossiping, and then scrutinizing our age difference, our status... and of course, Mrs. Katherine Maverick scolding me. She will... She wouldn't let her attractive brother-in-law end up with a woman like me.