Message in the inbox 📥

Chapter 6

"Or worse... maybe it's a guy," he said aloud, his voice laced with dry humor.

Palming his face again, Theo shook his head, trying to snap himself out of it. He stood up and stretched, his broad frame filling the room as he placed his hands on his waist, rubbing his forehead as if he could somehow rub away the thoughts spinning in his head.

"You need to get a grip," he muttered to himself. "Focus on the film. This is it. This film... it's THE film."

He paced across the room, the shadows of the night dancing on the walls as he moved. Tomorrow he would be flying out to Scotland, where he would begin filming the biggest project of his career. He knew he needed to be at his best focused, sharp, and ready for whatever the shoot would throw at him. But here he was, obsessing over someone he didn't even know, distracted by the warmth of messages that had pulled him in deeper than he'd anticipated.

Theo wandered into the bathroom and flicked on the light, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His dark eyes, usually piercing and full of confidence, now looked tired, weighed down by the strange mix of emotions he had been suppressing. He leaned against the sink, letting the cool surface ground him for a moment.

"You're losing it," he told himself, shaking his head. But deep down, he knew the truth this person, this faceless stranger, had reached him in a way no one else had. Not Sereen, not his fans, not anyone in his carefully curated life.

For the first time in a long while, Theo felt vulnerable. And it scared him.

                                                           ***************************

Ainsley walked to work, her feet moving automatically along the familiar route, but her mind was somewhere else entirely. She barely registered the world around her the vibrant fall colors, the cool crispness of the air, or even the steady hum of people passing by. She didn't even notice Lina walking beside her, chatting animatedly, her words falling on deaf ears.

In truth, Ainsley's thoughts were far too tangled to focus on anything outside her own head. She hadn't sent the message to Theo last night. A part of her still felt too raw to reach out, too disconnected from everything, even from herself. The weight of everything her complicated feelings toward Theo, her responsibilities to her family, and most of all, her dad sat heavy on her chest.

Her father had texted her out of the blue, asking to meet. Urgently. After all these years, she had no idea what to make of it. She'd been reluctant to respond at first, not sure if she was ready to face the man who had walked out on her and her family. Yet, the urgency in his message made it impossible for her to ignore it. And deep down, Ainsley had to admit that a part of her the part that still longed for answers, for closure wanted to know why he had left. Why he had abandoned her, Aurora, and their mother.

Suddenly, Lina's hand waved in front of her face, snapping her out of her trance. "Ains? Ainsley, are you even listening?" Lina's voice cut through the fog of her thoughts, sounding both playful and a little annoyed.

Ainsley blinked and looked at her, startled, struggling to pull herself back to the present. "What? I'm sorry, Lina... I..."

Before she could finish, Lina stopped in her tracks and turned to face her, her expression shifting from lighthearted to concerned in an instant. "Ainsley, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice softer now, tinged with worry. "Did something happen?"