Page 94 of Worth the Try
KARI
Have you seen this? Please tell me it’s fake.
I follow the link to the international news site she pasted into the next text, and a gasp leaves my mouth at the headline.
NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE STAR’S NANNY MAKES POWER GRAB: “SHE’S NOT YOUR DAUGHTER”
Nausea roils through me as I scan the article. Lauren. Lauren’s gone to the press and made me look like an absolute monster.
Beside me, the sound of my own voice wafts from Ansel’s phone.“Stay away from them. You don’t deserve them. I’m her mother now.”
Ansel looks over at me. “Is this?—”
But I’m already shaking my head, even as guilt and doubt begin to swirl in my belly. “That’s not what I said. I didn’t say it like that. She edited the recording.”
Ansel’s phone pings with a text. “This…” he starts, eyes scanning the screen as he moves deftly between apps. His face pales. “This isn’t good, Elle.”
My body tingles, my heart racing. This can’t be happening. None of this can be happening.
He holds up a different post, and it’s the two of us on the red carpet. Tears spring to my eyes as I take it in: We’re looking at each other, and there’s the softest smile on his face. The love and adoration shine through. Beside the photo in bold capital letters is the headline:NAUGHTY NANNY NABS RUGGER!
It’s endless. Shots of us at the gala overlaid with quotes I never said. Audio that twists my words into things that never came out of my mouth. As far as the world is concerned, I’m a money-grabbing home wrecker who’s deliberately keeping Lauren away from her daughter.
“I think I might be sick,” I mutter, letting the phone slide out of my hands as I stumble to the bathroom.
Ansel doesn’t answer, his attention focused on the phone he’s bringing up to his ear. “Lewis. I guess all those years of being your easiest client just went out the door.”
I try to pull myself together in the bathroom, splashing water on my face and staring hard at my reflection. This will blow over. Ithasto.
Then I turn and retch into the toilet.
When I pick my phone back up from where I dropped it on the nightstand, a new text waits for me.
MOTHER
I don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into this time, Elodie, but you need to fix it. I have pageant press all over me. You know how hard I’ve worked to finally get to where I am. I can’t have something like this getting in the way.
A wrecked laugh escapes me. Ofcoursemy mother would reach out. Ofcourseshe would worry only about how this makes her look to the pageant world, and not about the toll this might be taking on her daughter.
I don’t bother answering.
An hour later, Kari appears at the front door, waving her phone like it’s her personal weapon. The scowl on her face drops as soon as she sees me. “Oh, babe.”
That’s all it takes. I start sobbing as she steps over the threshold, lunging into her arms and squeezing her tight. “I didn’t say any of those things,” I manage to say between gasps of air.
“That’s good,” she says, shutting the door behind her with her foot and running a hand down my back. “But we have to figure this out.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I whimper. This is my nightmare. My absolutenightmare.And because it’s Kari, I admit the rest. “My mother texted.”
She stills, then leans back to meet my eyes.
“Seems she’s worried how this will look as she’s rising through the pageant ranks. God forbid anything stop her from becoming the head of the organization.” I want to be pissed. I want my voice to be razor sharp. But instead, the words come out in a choked sob. A series of whimpers revealing the soft underbelly that only Kari knows.
“Come here,” Kari says, pulling me into her arms. “I’m so sorry, Elodie. We’ll figure this out.”
“I don’t think so,” I whisper. That text tells me everything I need to know about her. “I think I need to have a long talk with her when this blows over.”
Kari winces. “That…might take a while.”
