It's absurd how life is full of conflictions. I should be happy Fedez and I together again. I should be happy that our relationship is rock solid and his sister is cool about us. I should be extremely content with the way life has turned out, but I'm not.

Why is that? What's gnawing away my thoughts, preventing me from enjoying my drama-free life in the most romantic city on Earth?

Jason Declan Flamel.

"I'm in love with a fairytale even though it hurts..."

"Damn this song and these lyrics!" I curse as I press the button to switch songs.

Sofia's new single starts playing and I breathe a sigh of relief. I sink into my chair and adjust my earphones. Much better.

Thanks to Jason, my fairytale relationship has its consequences. I know it's not my fault, but I feel guilty. Then again, I was cursed from the moment I met both Fedez and Jason. Life snowballed into an uncontrollable avalanche and I was unaware I'd be trapped beneath it.

Now I'm caught between my feelings for Fedez and sympathy for Jason. We're both responsible for Jason's depleting mentality. I don't know why, but Jason likes me, yet he knows we can never be together because of Marquilla. And she's another catalyst for him to feel like dirt.

I can't help the constriction in my chest whenever someone mentions Marquilla or Jason. It's not right for me to be this worked up over them, but I can't help feeling responsible for this mess. I was a huge part of it. If I knew that personal assistant job would lead me to this much fear for someone who was just a singer to me back then, I wouldn't have taken it. Too late now.

Before me is the complete opposite of this jumbled mind of mine. Despite the two almost seven-year-olds causing mayhem with my boyfriend and his sister, it's more structured and calmer.

"Lindsay, are you okay?" Guillaume questions as his little brows concerningly knit. "You look lost."

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" I assure him, shooting a half-hearted smile I hope looks satisfactory with my response.

"I don't know," Geneviève doubts. "I sink somesing eez bozering you."

Ugh, nothing passes by the kids. She can just tell my mind isn't exactly here right now. I can try to argue and reiterate that I'm fine, but that would be a waste of breath. I can't fool her, but I also can't spill the truth.

"There are many things on my mind," I safely respond, shooting a pleading glance at Fedez for help. "Everything's so stressful right now!"

"I'm surprised you're not talking to them in French," Fedez comments with a cheeky smile. "But I guess this whole experience is for them to learn English from a native speaker."

"Her French is too perfect!" Sofia laughs. To the kids, she says, "Why don't we make dinner? How does homemade pizza sound?"

"Will we make ze dough for ze pizza?" Guillaume wonders, bottle green eyes alight at the thought.

"We sure are!" Sofia happily responds. "You get to pick all the toppings too! They're stuck with whatever you choose."

The twins love Sofia's suggestion, so they take her hands and skip out of the room singing their favorite song of hers, "The Feeling." Seeing the trio exit in such high spirits warms my heart. I can't help marveling at their adorableness.

The familiar scent of salt trickles up my nose as a pair of arms wrap around my waist and pull me towards the owner. I contently sigh as I snuggled into Fedez's arms. He smiles as I gaze into those gorgeous brown eyes of his, and he lifts my chin so that our lips meet for a brief second. Despite the incredibly brief kiss, it still manages to render me breathless.

"What's really bothering you?" he asks, gently caressing my cheek. He wickedly grins, adding, "You totally lied to Gen, Lindsay! You're setting a bad example for the twins."

"Shut up!" I protest, slapping his shoulder. "It's better than the truth. I refuse to corrupt their little minds with mundane celebrity gossip."

"Gossip that's screwing with your mind because you're worried about Jason. Look, you can't blame yourself for what's happening with him. You didn't make Marquilla do what she did, Linds. That's just the way she is. You couldn't predi—"

"BUT WE DID PREDICT IT!" I sob into his arms. "Lorraine and I knew she'd pull a stunt like that. We jus—we didn't know it'd be this bad! He isn't even eating, Fedez! I'm so scared."

"Hey...it's alright. We'll find a way to help him before it's too late," Fedez solemnly vows. "When Jason returns, it'll be with a big bang. Marquilla won't know what hit her, especially when you work for her again. But what about Skylar? She knows you and Lorraine are Exposing MG."

"Josh Bohous," I hint with a small smile.

"What about him?"

"Skylar still likes him and vice versa."

Fedez draws back with a blank look on his face. "That affects her relationship with Marquilla how?"

"Thought you were updated with everything, Fedez! They Vanilla Queens are dating and Marquilla broke up Joshlar. You know all about that! Marquilla is highly selfish, hence why she kept Jason under strict conditions when they were together. She knows how desirable both Jason and Skylar are, so she fooled both into thinking she legit cares for them."

"That doesn't make sense!" he proclaims, pounding a fist on the sofa. "I understand the Jason situation—the isolation and mind game stuff—but Skylar? She has more star power than Marquilla. How is she not the boss?"

"Easy. Skylar's brutality awakened after she met Marquilla, which is why the songs on Crimson are more spiteful than the ones on her first two albums. Reli and Sofia noticed that too. We have to separate the Vanilla Queens," I explain. "Jason said something to her at the hospital that resonates with my hypothesis that Marquilla brainwashed her. 'I feel like we have a lot more in common than you realize.' That's what he said."

"You weren't there. How do you know that?"

"I'm Exposing MG, Fedez. I know everyth—"

My phone rings, so I fish it out of my pocket. I never thought she'd want to speak to me after the way our last call ended, but there's a text from Skylar.

SKYLAR: Need to talk ASAP. It's about Josh.

ME: Can you wait an hour? Eating dinner soon.

SKYLAR: Yeah. Call me when you're ready.

ME: Sofia's with me. Hope you don't mind her joining in. She knows a few things that might be helpful.

SKYLAR: Fine. Talk to you guys later.

***

A half hour after our stomachs are filled with pizza and gelato, Sofia and I are ready to buckle down on business with Skylar. Thank goodness Fedez's here to keep the twins busy! We'd have a lot of explaining to do if he weren't here to entertain them.

As I find Skylar's number, Sofia leans against me.

"I can't believe you're dating my brother," she remarks, looking up at me and grinning. "You guys are super cute. I wouldn't be surprised if he pops the question."

"You mean like, propose?" I wonder.

"Yup. You totally have my support. Honestly Linds, he loves you to the cosmic infinities."

As I feel my cheeks blush, I gaze down at Sofia. She grins wider and snuggles me, as if she's a child seeking her mother's comfort. I wrap an arm around her waist and rest my head on hers while my phone tries to reach Skylar.

Sofia would be an amazing sister-in-law. Lorraine and I would be thrilled to call her family! I just think she's speeding up time in her head and making assumptions. Something could happen and cause a rift in our relationship; nothing is set in stone just yet.

"He likes it, so he'll definitely put a ring on it," she continues. "I don't doubt his devotion to you at all. He hasn't dated anyone since you spilt. I think he just knew you'd be the one."

"Who are you, his wingwoman?" I jest.

"Call me biased all you want—I am his sister—but you do belong together. Fate brought you back to each other, Lindsay."

"The world definitely does work in mysterious ways, doesn't it?" a voice that's definitely not mine asks. "I didn't even know Sofia had a brother until I saw your post. Must be nice to find your soul mate and not have them slip away!"

On the other side of the screen, Skylar looks exhausted. My guess is she just reached New York not too long ago or late last night. Her usually sleek blonde locks are slightly frizzy and dark circles are visible under her eyes, bags from little to no sleep. A ginger cat rests on her lap and it nuzzles its head against her.

This isn't the glamorous Skylar Rose I'm used to seeing. See, celebrities aren't ethereal beings from another world. They're just like you and me.

'You alright, Skylar? You don't look too well," Sofia asks, knitting her brows.

"You know how tour rehearsals can be," Skylar shrugs with a wave of a hand. "It's hectic, but worth all the effort. So Lindsay, you spoke to Reli about Josh, right?"

'Y-yeah," I respond, slightly taken aback that she remembered I brought that up last time. "Wait a sec, I never told you I was planning on talking to Reli about him! How did you know?"

"We're similar, you and I. we both know things others don't. Anyways, spill! Tell me everything Reli said!"

"Not until you tell us about how things are with Marquilla," Sofia sternly demands. "She jeopardized my brother's career and she's destroying Jason's. I think we deserve to know a thing or two."

Skylar sighs and strokes her cat. Fedez was before her time, but she's all too familiar with Jason's apparent road to hell. She helped Marquilla dispose of him with her influence.

"She's fine. Well, she's more than fine—ecstatic is a better word," Skylar anxiously begins. "She's super busy with the new single, album, and tour prep, so I haven't spoken to her much. I just know she's happy and in her element. That's really all that matters."

What kills me is the way Skylar speaks about Marquilla. She regards her in the highest light despite everything that happened. Marquilla has the poor girl that whipped and it sucks that she's just as blind as Jason.

"I spoke to Jason a few weeks ago," Skylar adds. I swear my ears and Sofia's are perking up like animals listening for food. "I told him that I relate about the breakup and songwriting helped me cope. I told him he should do that too if it helps. I just thought you should know I tried to help."

"That's great, Sky!" I proudly breathe. "Reli and I didn't talk much about you and Josh, but we both know he still cares about you. Marquilla is why he won't talk to you, but he really wants to. Now would be the perfect time since you and Danny a—"

"Aren't together anymore?" Skylar irritably finishes. "Right. What does Marquilla have to do with this? I know she dated Nils on and off for a while, bu—"

"Marquilla threatened to blackmail Josh if he didn't sleep with her," Sofia blurts out.

The look on Skylar's face is priceless. Cerulean eyes blink, perplexed at what Sofia just said. Her mouth is open so wide, you could stuff a loaf of bread in there.

"When he was with me?" Skylar questions. "That's ridiculous!"

"She's not joking," I confirm. "Sofia's telling the truth. Marquilla knows how crazy you can be over people who use drugs. Back when they were the Winsey gang, Nils, Josh, Reli, and Marquilla experimented. Reli told me all about it. The guys did coke a few times, but never got out of hand with it. Josh only broke up with you because he didn't want Marquilla to tell you about it."

"That's crazy!" Skylar scoffs, trying to uphold her queen bee behavior, but failing due to the quiver in her tone. "She wouldn't do that to me—I know she wouldn't! You may be Exposing MG, but you need to fact check this info, Lindsay. You're totally wrong about this!"

"If you don't believe us, we can set something up with Josh and Reli," I propose. "Skylar, Marquilla's been playing you. She isn't as clean as you think too. I know she's still on coke a—"

The line drops dead. Sofia and I stare at my phone, unsure of what just happened. Well, there goes our plan of breaking up the Vanilla Queens.

A/N:

I know this story is dead, which is why I haven't updated in 19 days, but things are heating up!! If you are reading this, you're amazing for putting up with this. Honestly, you da real MVP for still following along. Love you loads, and see you for the next chapter, which is an EXPOSED post! xx