Turning to Stone (Heart of Stone: Book 2)

Chapter 40: Autograph

Chapter 40: Autograph

Dating Teddy Stone brought with it a mountain of compromises, adjustments, and limitations, but I wouldn't change a single thing about him. For every negative side to this unconventional relationship, I found a stronger, more significant positive.

A security team accompanied me everywhere, ensuring minimal privacy and even less freedom. Navigating a new life in the public eye was terrifying at times, though, and Security offered a layer of reassurance. I didn't want freedom walking down the street when anyone could approach me. I didn't want privacy in public when I could be cornered alone. Protection was a bonus, not an inconvenience.

I shared my boyfriend with the rest of the world and watched my relationship feature in every tabloid, gossip site, and social media platform. Speculation ran rife, but I got a side to Teddy Stone that nobody else saw, and I knew parts of my relationship that nobody else did. That was a special, privileged position to hold.

We also lived in a hotel surrounded by people who dictated what we should do and how we should do it. Rather than imprison us, it meant we could spend more time together between our busy schedules, and the instructions kept us safe and free from public criticism or cancellation.

With the help of Zola, I'd created a new, public-facing Instagram profile where all my posts were carefully curated and approved. In just the two weeks it had been live, I'd gained half a million followers. My first photo—a snap of Ed and me, obviously—had racked up tens of thousands of likes. Reading the comments took some getting used to, but Zola coached me through it.

For years I'd tried to earn a steady income from my blog, and now I had the audience to do that. Living rent-free with minimal expenses wouldn't be my life for much longer; I wasn't employed by Ed's team anymore—far too many conflicts of interest there—and while they hadn't kicked me out yet, Helen had made the odd comment about my room being part of a contract that existed no more. I needed to plan ahead, and if I could grow my writing now, it would hopefully pay the bills when I eventually moved out.

Practical benefits aside, the experience of being popular—being adored—elicited an easily accessible high that I couldn't imagine ever wearing off. No wonder Ed loved it.

As always, Helen saw an opportunity to exploit it. 

"Everyone is going crazy for the pair of you." Her calculating eyes landed on me as we had our daily catch-up. "How do you feel about that?"

I downplayed it, not wanting to show my hand.

"Better than being hated. I can deal with the occasional insult, and I want to keep it that way."

"We should capitalise on it," she said. "I don't think any of us expected the fans to like you this much."

Nice to hear...

Ed cleared his throat, squeezing my hand beneath the table. "I think what Helen is trying to say, with much less tact, is that we were worried you'd be irrationally hated for being attached to me."

With a roll of her eyes that suggested she had no time for sugar-coating, Helen tapped her pen against her notebook.

"You're his first public girlfriend," she said, for what must have been the forty-seventh time. "They're not used to sharing him, that's all. Plus you're standing in the way of their biggest dream: to be special enough to date him."

"I get it." I shrugged. "Maybe it's the opposite. I'm an outsider to the fandom. It's not like one fan 'won' him and the others are resentful they lost out. Maybe that's a more palatable defeat in their eyes."