Adele had been on her daily run for less than twenty minutes, when she noticed that a car was following her.
"Shit, fuck" she said under her breath, looking for a place where she could hide or ask for help. But she was in a residential area, so she sped up until she made it to the closest open business she could find: a flower shop.
"Hi, good morning" she said, trying to catch her breath. "Could you please do me a favour?"
"Of course" the woman from the shop smiled.
"Could you check if there is a grey car waiting outside? I think they've been following me."
"Oh dear" the woman said. "Wait here. I'll go outside as if you've asked for some of the flowers I have there."
"Thank you" Adele replied.
"You were right, there is a grey car outside" the woman said when she walked back into the shop. "I saw a man leaving the passenger seat, nod towards here, and then talk to the driver."
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit."
"It's ok, I won't leave you alone" the woman smiled again. "Come to the back of the store with me. I'll make you a cup of tea while we wait for the police."
"Thank you very much, ma'am" Adele said while trying to contain her tears.
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"And?"
"They are gone" Luca said, sitting next to his sister. "I'm pretty sure the police scared the hell out of them."
"Good" Adele said. "They deserve it for doing the same to me."
Paparazzis. The men who had been following her, were paparazzis.
Turns out that the girls at the restaurant where she and Mason had had dinner, the ones she swore had said their names, recognized them the moment they walked in and had spent the whole night taking photos of them and posting them on social media, the press writing articles about it not long after. And if you only saw the photos, they did look like a couple on a date. The smiles, the way they were looking at each other, Adele touching Mason's hand...
"Is there anything else I could do for you?" the woman from the flower shop offered.
"Oh, no, don't worry. We are leaving" Adele said. "But thank you very much for your help, the tea, the company... You are an angel."
"Just doing what anyone would do" she smiled.
"I'm not so sure of that" Luca said. "But thank you for taking care of my sister."
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"I can't fucking believe it!"
"Mase..."
"No! They followed you! They harassed you! They crossed so many lines!"
When Luca and Adele had made it home, Mason was already there, pacing around the living room. And when he saw her, he had ran towards her and hugged her in a way he had never before, completely catching her by surprise.
"But now it is over" she said. "They know that if they do it again, we will call the police and they will be in trouble."
"Yes, them. But what about the other photographers? What if they do the same? This is not ok, Addie. It is not."
"What should we do, then?" Luca asked.
"Ignoring it like everyone has suggested us hasn't worked, so it's time we take matters into our own hands."
"Mase, what are you going to do?" Adele asked him while watching him furiously type on his phone.
"End this" he grunted.
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"I know it is early for Christmas or my birthday, but I already know what I want as a gift: for the press to stop harassing my friends. Do you think that will do anything?" Jourdan asked Adele over the phone.
"I don't know" she sighed.
That had been the message Mason had posted on his Instagram stories and twitter account, and so far, people were going nuts about it. Them, and his agency. They hadn't liked that he had done something like that without consulting them first, but he didn't seem to care.
"When are you coming back home?"
"In a couple of days when Mason is done with his job. His agency booked us the tickets."
"Is that wise, tho? Traveling together after everything that has happened?"
"I don't know" Adele said again. "I honestly don't know what to do anymore, what is a good choice or a bad one. But if there are paps at the airport, at least I know I'll have him by my side."
"Addie..." Jourdan chuckled.
"What?"
"That sounded as if... As if you are starting to feel something for him."
"What? No! We are just friends!"
"Yeah, yeah. But maybe this thing about people believing that you are together is starting to like... rub off?"
"Jourdan, no. We are just friends."
"Ok, ok. Just friends" she repeated. Though she didn't sound too convinced.
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"I wish the flight had been longer" Adele yawned, resting her head on Mason's shoulder while they waited for their luggage.
"You shouldn't have slept that much. Jet lag is gonna kick your ass" he laughed.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Just try not to fall asleep here, ok?"
"I don't think I would be able to even if I wanted to. What is going on?" she said, turning around to see what was causing all that noise.
"Fuck" Mason whispered. The paparazzis. They had found them and were inside the airport, security trying to keep them away.
"What are we going to do?"
"Mr. Mount? Miss Turlington?" a security guard said next to them. "Please follow me, I'll get you out of here."
"But our luggage..." Adele said.
"Don't worry about that now, Miss Turlington. Please follow me."
"C'mon" Mason said, grabbing her hand and starting to walk.
"Please let us through. Please" the man said while trying to push the photographers away. They had followed them after seeing Mason and Adele leave, and there were so many of them.
"Mase..."
"It's ok, we are almost there. I've got you" he said, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. He was walking in front of her, protecting her from everything and everyone. If he hadn't been there, Adele was sure she would have not survived it.
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"Addie, are you sure you are ok?"
"Yeah, yeah. For once I'm not complaining about being jet lagged." Because it meant spending most part of her day sleeping and not having to leave her house and face the paparazzis waiting outside. "How is Milan?"
"Beautiful as always" her mother Elizabeth said over the phone. "But I was thinking... Why don't you come to Paris with me? We could have some time together like we used to."
"I don't know, mum..."
"C'mon, Addie. You used to love spending time with me during fashion month! And it will help you distract yourself a bit."
"I'll think about it" she said.
Adele had always loved being backstage with her mum during fashion shows, getting to see how everything worked. And more than once, she had been asked to walk. But unlike Elizabeth, she hadn't been born to wear heels.
"Ok. But think about that hot chocolate from Cafe Angelina..."
"That's cheating, mum" Adele chuckled.
"But if it convinces you to come with me, then it will be worth it."
"Let me call Mase first and ask him what he is doing. If we both are in Paris at the same time..."
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"I'm skipping Paris, I have a shoot in Italy for the perfume I told you about. So go have some fun with your mum, don't worry about me."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure" Mason smiled over facetime. Though it wasn't his usual smile, the one that made his dimple pop.
"Mase, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I am. Why?"
"I don't know. You look a bit... Off."
"That's this phone's camera. I think I need to get a new one."
"Ok..." Adele said. But for some reason, she didn't believe him.
"You have to promise me something, tho."
"Something like what?"
"One, that you will eat some chocolate macarons for me."
"I will" she chuckled.
"And two, that you will enjoy Paris. Wear something fun, take as many photos as you can, attend some parties with your mum... Don't let them ruin it for you, Addie. Do you promise?"
"Promise" she smiled.
"Great. Now I better go, my agent is coming."
"Wait, have they... Have they found out yet who tipped the paps at the airport?"
"I gotta go, Addie. Bye" Mason said before hanging up, leavin