The Wedding Planner // H.S.

guess we were both wrong

Above: London Heathrow Airport where Ev's flight lands

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I approached Maddie's car with a newly found fear of paparazzi. I had a hat and sunglasses on and somehow they still managed to pick me out of the crowd. I'm sure this was only going to add to the firestorm that has begun to brew.

The other day, I made the mistake of looking online to see what people had been saying about me, even though I was told specifically by Harry not to. Some girls were saying that I was gorgeous and that they were happy for Harry, but others were calling me out for ruining his relationship with Ara and being a "greedy bitch" with "no regard for anyone's feelings". That's kind of hard to take, especially when those people don't know anything about what truly happened.

"Get in before you get swarmed again." Maddie opened the passenger door for me and I hopped in. Maddie quickly sped away as soon as I was buckled, looking over toward me. "You've really gone and completely changed your life, haven't you?" Maddie laughed. "Not by choice, it's not like I asked Ara to leak all of that information." I sighed.

"Have you heard from Harry?" Maddie asked. I shook my head. "Not since he left to come back. It's been four days and nothing. I'm starting to think he moved to Japan or something and changed his name to get away from me."

Maddie scoffed. "Are you kidding me? The boy is smitten with you, I bet he's fighting his management every step of the way to just have a normal relationship with you in the spotlight."

I laughed at her optimism. "Maddie, it's nice of you to think that, but he explained the situation to me. He can't just have a normal relationship like you and me, it's insanely complicated." I sighed, opening my, now private, Instagram to scroll through some mindless photos and try to not think about my life for a few minutes.

The first post that popped up was Harry's face from MTV, with a caption saying 'Harry Styles is still single, and certainly not a cheater. Link in bio for his full statement'.

"What the hell?" I mumbled to myself. What kind of statement did he give?

"What?" Maddie asked, looking over at me with concern. "He denied it." I said, scrolling through his statement. "You're shitting me." Maddie gasped. I shook my head slowly. His statement stabbed into my heart like a thousand knives. I slowly read it out to Maddie

It is with a heavy heart that I'm announcing my split from Ara. Our breakup was completely mutual and did not involve any kinds of cheating. I am not currently seeing anyone and the paparazzi should end their interactions with people who have been unfairly entangled in this situation, such as Evelynn O'Connor, the woman who was planning Ara and I's wedding. She is phenomenal at what she does and deserves nothing but respect from those around her. Thank you all for understanding. All my best. H.

"Honestly, Ev, it sounds like that statement is to protect you. I don't think he's breaking up with you, he's taking care of you."

I tried to blink back tears, but they started falling down my face without control.

I shook my head. "I don't know what he's doing, but it's certainly not taking care of me."

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"Hey, do you want to see the-" "Not right now, Jack. I need to take a look at some samples." I said curtly, walking past him to my office. It had been a solid four hours since I landed and I have no interest in even thinking about contacting Harry. I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Is this about Harry?" Jack asked more softly. I glared at him. "Well, that answers that." Jack sighed. "Look, his statement seemed to be about protecting you. Can't you guys just keep dating in secret?"