Mark’s smile morphed into a sneer. “Not interested? You’ve got to be shitting me. Scarlett, it’s Princess Carmella. When we first started working together, you told me there was no role you wanted to play more than Princess Carmella. You went on and on about that fucking book and how you wouldn’t be able to die happy without being cast as Princess fucking Carmella. It’s your fucking dream come true.”
It was true. As a child, her mother would read her the book A Princess Lives all the time. It was the story of a girl born into poverty who found out in her early twenties that she was, in fact, the daughter of a king. She’d risen from the gutter to lead her country with grace, elegance, beauty. She’d been beloved by all, but especially the handsome prince from a neighboring country. It was a fairy tale. The fairy tale in Mickie’s mind and she’d always hope it’d be made into a feature film. True, she’d wished for it for many years, but not now.
Her dreams had changed. Now she envisions a future full of evenings by the fireplace with Keith and his siblings, nights in Keith’s arms, and days building an exciting business with her new best friend.
“Mark, I’m sorry.” Maybe sincerity and truth were the way to play it. She lifted her hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m not bullshitting you. I’m just not interested anymore. I have a good thing here. Friends, work, a home.” She left out mention of Keith. Mark was the type to exploit what he could for personal gain. “I’m happy and healthier than I’ve been my entire life.”
“You can’t be serious. I saw your house. It’s nothing! Nothing compared to what you had just a year ago. The Scarlett I know could never be satisfied with…” Holding his arms out, he gazed around the sparkling park with a grimace as if it was a garbage dump instead of a winter wonderland. “With this.”
Tossing her hands in the air, she almost shouted, “The Scarlett you knew couldn’t be satisfied with anything because she wasn’t satisfied with herself. She was a character in a world that chewed her up and spat her out. I’m Michaela.” She thumped her chest. “I don’t play anyone but myself anymore. And I am satisfied with everything in my life.”
The strength of her conviction grew with each word out of her mouth. Damn, it felt amazing. When she’d left, the few people who knew she was leaving called her insane. They’d railed at her for deserting them and swore she’d be back in no time. Everyone said she wouldn’t survive without the glitz, the glam, without her name in lights and hordes of fans slobbering over her. They’d thought of her as nothing more than a narcissistic diva.
Proving them wrong was the sweetest revenge.
“I’m sorry you wasted your time, Mark, but you need to go now. I’m due at a meeting soon.” A meeting might have been a bit of a stretch. She and Ronnie were finalizing their pitch to the rest of her family for the bed and breakfast idea. But she was due at the coffee shop in fifteen minutes. “Have a safe trip back to California.”
With a nod, she turned and began to walk back the way from which she’d come.
“Scarlett,” he called out in a voice far less affable than it had been seconds ago.
“We’re done, Mark.” She didn’t bother to turn.
“Do you think I would have come here without a backup plan? Without doing my research and developing a strategy to ensure your cooperation? If so, you underestimated me. I thought you knew me better than that.”
Her steps slowed. Shit. She did know him better than that and had been a fool to think he wouldn’t try to strong-arm her. Turning once again, she pierced him with her most hateful look. “What are you gonna do? Tell the media where to find me? Disrupt my peace with crowds of paparazzi and press? Do your worst, Mark. I’ve been prepared for it for months.”
For the first time, she didn’t feel the familiar stab of fear at being discovered. She was strong now and had a badass support system to stand behind her.
“Hmm, nah, I figured that wouldn’t be enough to sway you. They’d come here and get bored of you within minutes. No, I have a much more powerful weapon.” He held up his phone. “Video is always best.”
Now it was her turn to scoff. “What? Do you have video of me high? Fucking someone random?” She advanced on him. “I. Don’t. Care. Newsflash, it’s all been said about me before. Like you said, I’m boring now. No one will care about a dated story of the same old shit from Scarlett. Especially once they realize I’m a nobody now.”