Wright that Got Away (Wright)

“I don’t know, Nate. But someone told the press. Someone who knew. You met Campbell and didn’t like him. Maybe you were looking for a quick payday.”

He gestured around him. “Does it look like I need a quick payday?”

I bit my lip as I looked around at the house I’d just been admiring. It did in fact not look like he needed money. That was for sure.

“No,” I admitted.

“And I liked Campbell just fine. But I can be jealous of what y’all have.” His eyes darted away from mine. “Not that I wanted it for us, but just in general.”

“Oh.”

I hadn’t considered any of this. I’d been so set on it being Nate. He was the only other person who knew about us from back then besides my friends, and they certainly hadn’t told.

“Well, someone leaked it. And no one else knew,” I finally said on a frustrated sigh.

“How did they find out about the abortion?”

I flinched at that word. “Miscarriage.”

His face dropped. “Fuck, Blaire.”

“Yeah, that’s why I crumpled on the red carpet. I didn’t even know the hospital had listed the miscarriage as an abortion in my file. It brought back a slew of terrible memories.”

“I’m so sorry. Fuck the press.”

I shot him a sad smile. “Yeah. Well, we need them, but the shit they do to celebrities is not cool. And it was a Campbell Soup girl who found out about the miscarriage.”

“Isn’t that illegal? Accessing and sharing someone’s medical files?”

“Definitely,” I agreed. “But it still happened.”

“So, maybe they just snooped.”

“It’s possible, but if they didn’t find it throughout the years that Campbell has been in the spotlight and everyone was looking for who the song is about, I don’t think that they’d just find it on their own. I think someone told them.”

Nate shrugged. “What about your assistant?”

“Honey doesn’t know either.”

Nate’s silence was louder than anything he could have said.

I stilled. “What? She didn’t know. I never told her.”

“She was there the day that you told me.”

“She was?” I racked my brain to go back to that day.

Had Honey been in earshot of that? The picture that had been leaked was from that day. It showed Campbell and me standing close together. I’d assumed someone had seen us and not that it was someone from my team. Someone likely following Campbell. Not this.

“She definitely was.”

“No way,” I said, my voice shaky.

Nate shot me a look. “Maybe she’s in love with Campbell.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

“I thought she was kind of normal until he showed up.”

“Yeah, but…” I trailed off as the past few months came back to me.

Her being a die-hard Cosmere fan, the way she’d overstepped my bounds to get Campbell to do the video, the fringe bangs and dye job, her borrowing my clothes, and all the messages from her when I’d been in LA asking if I was with Campbell. Had she been doing all of that to try to get Campbell to notice her? Had she been turning into me to try to get him?

Had she done something to make sure we broke up?

I suddenly felt sick. “Oh my God.”

“I would never do that to you, Blaire. I don’t need the money, and I want to see you happy and successful.”

“God, Nate, I’m sorry that I accused you. I just…couldn’t think of who else would do something like this.”

“I understand. I probably would have accused me, too,” he said with a laugh. “But I’m here, looking out for you, Blaire. Are you sure that Honey is, too?”

Ten minutes ago, I would have said yes.

And now, I didn’t know.

40

Blaire

“Wait, Nate thinks Honey outed you to the press?” Piper asked when we were back on the highway, heading home.

“It was the only other answer we could think of.”

“And you’re sure it’s not him?”

“Pretty sure,” I said. “He wasn’t acting like someone who was guilty. I came all the way out here, so I could look him in the eye when I asked him. I know when he’s trying to be charming to get away with shit. I’ve seen it on him before. He wasn’t doing any of that with this.”

Piper blew out heavily. “Okay. Wow. But why would she do it?”

I bit my lip. “He thinks it’s about Campbell. Like…she started to borrow my clothes and dye her hair to look like me. She changed when he showed up. Like she was trying to get his attention.”

“Whoa,” Piper said with wide eyes. “I hadn’t considered any of that, but she has been twice as clingy as normal. You think she did it to break you two up?”

“I have no idea. But if Nate didn’t do it and Honey has been acting increasingly strange…it makes sense. She’s in love with Cosmere. It’s not a stretch for her to be in love with Campbell, too.”

“Jesus,” Piper said. “Well…what are you going to do?”