Chapter 21 - KMCF

**Third Person's POV**

Hunter ran towards the elevator, seconds after it had engulfed Jennifer. He constantly tapped the down button for the other elevator, until a ding was heard. He hurriedly went into it, hoping she didn't exit by then.

He didn't know what he was going to say to her when he was catching up to her, nor did he even know why he was chasing after her. Maybe it was because he couldn't stand the idea of not having her near him anymore. Whatever it was, it still wouldn't convince him to tell her the truth.

He tapped his foot impatiently as the elevator counted down. He zipped out of the elevator the second the doors opened to reveal the lobby. Without the slightest hint of whether she left of not, he looked around. He caught a glimpse of a long floral skirt turn the corner. He followed it, remembering how he wasn't able to compliment her on her outfit.

As he turned the corner, he was immediately blinded by flashing lights and deaf by loud chatters of people. The paparazzi had the building surrounded. They had found him.

**Jennifer's POV**

The entrance was blocked, no one was getting in and they were definitely not getting out. There were so many of them, I started to feel scared. Were they all here for me, because I was  pretty sure there weren't this many this morning.

Not only was outside hectic, the inside was too. The receptionists were scrambling to answer any phone calls they heard. Tenants retreated back to their room with orders from the indoor guards. Employees were running around trying to do as much as possible. All of this was happening because of me? Because of I had a conversation with an old friend? I could feel my heart beating rapidly, I had just left a terrible situation, just to jump into a new one.

I felt a tug on my hand, I turned around by the unexpected touch. Hunter looked like he had just run a mile, but that was beside the point. Just because I was in a shocked state, didn't mean I wasn't angry anymore.

I yanked my hand away from his grasp. He was the last person I wanted to see right now. "Jen-"

Laura sped in between us before he had a chance to complete his sentence. "Manning."

He slowly drifted his eyes from me to the blonde. "Yes?"

She had two smart phones in her hands and an earpiece in her ear, she was talking to three other people at the same time. "I've already called for four bodyguards and you won't be able to drive yourself for awhile. I've also called for a driver." She glanced at the swarm of paparazzi blocking the view of the city. "I knew they'd find you soon, but I didn't think there would this many."

Why am I not surprised?

They were here for him.

I didn't want to see him right now, I didn't want to hear him, I didn't want him near me right now. And thanks to the crowd of reporters, that was seemingly impossible. "Is there some kind of secre exit, I can go through?" I asked.

"Yeah, but not many people know about it, so you'll have to get permission from Manning." Laura informed me.

"Why?" I questioned.

She took a quick glimpse at Hunter and turned back to me. "Didn't Manning tell you? He owns this building."

I felt like laughing. Just great, more additional lies. "Oh." I looked at him, and he appeared guilty. I hoped that my eye contact could tell I wanted permission, and that I didn't want to share a speech with him.

Laura wasn't paying attention to the way we were acting, instead she was texting one of the phones. He nodded.

** **

I was parked outside my parents' house, trying to fix my makeup. Even though it was waterproof, it still messed up a little.

I wasn't sure whether or not it was a good idea to come here. I was a complete wreck, both inside and out. I really just wanted to go home and eat junk food, but something told me that I wouldn't benefit from that. I needed to be surrounded by the people who actually care about me.

When I was done, I walked towards the front door waiting for either parent to open the door after I rang the door bell.

My parents' house was gorgeous and maintained its beauty after years of inhabitants. The house itself was huge and abnormally shaped, but its white color seemed to remain the same. The water fountain still had its smooth marble texture, the grass was greener than ever with trails of colorful flowers to compliment each other. Everything was perfectly placed, there was not a single flaw. As a child, I'd cause a mess in the front yard. From mud baths to trying to find dinosaur bones. Of course, I wasn't alone, I had Grace, Daniel, and Hun- I mean, other neighborhood friends.

Mom opened the door with a smile on her face, I returned it. Her smile always cheered me up, even on my worst days. Her smile soon faltered when she took a more detailed look at me. "You're always dressed like you came out of a photo shoot, Jenni. Why don't you dress more relaxed?"

I eyed her outfit, she wore a loose fitting, long hippie dress with a few colorful necklaces. "I own a clothing store, I kinda have to represent it well. Plus, you dress way too relaxed." I retorted.

We glared at each other for a while until we both started to laugh. "You look beautiful, Jenni." She moved aside to let me pass as she beamed. Her icy blue eyes and brown hair were the reasons I too had those features.

"So do you, mom," I couldn't help, but look around the nostalgic room. My mother's gorgeous paintings were hung up on every wall, her animal and plant based sculptures were why the house looked phenomenal. The scent was too familiar, it was indescribable and it'd always brought me back to my childhood holidays.

"Jen! Look at this!" Grace's voice rang in my ear and believe me it wasn't pleasant. "Come quickly!"

I groaned lightly as my mom gave me a deadly glare. "What is it?"

I didn't think she'd be here, unfortunately she was sitting on the sofa next to my father. Her hair was pulled into a nicely done pony tail, along with her nicely applied makeup. She was wearing a green dress that was probably tailored specifically for her. Grace grabbed the remote and with it increased the television's volume.

It was one of those entertainment channels with both a man and a woman showering their viewers with celebrity gossip. I never really watched it, but I knew it was essential for fashion and clothing.

"Now, let's take a look at the video," said the woman with pearly white teeth and stretched smile.

A video popped up on the screen, at first I was unsure about what it was showing. The video wasn't really focused or stable. It was a bunch of people talking at once and flashing lights. It then showed a good looking man cradling a woman. I started to realize that wasn't just a man and a woman, but Marcos and I.

I didn't look like frightened, but I looked really uncomfortable. I also looked really good, only Marcos looked twice as good, even in a frustrated state. It also caught the part where Marcos pulled me closer to him. The video abruptly ended when we both got into his car.

I could feel the stares of everyone on me, but I ignored them as the tv zoomed back to the hosts of the show.
"From what we've just watched, you see Martinez escorting his date from his newly opened club to his car." The lady looked over at her co-host to supply more to the story.

"Partyers say the two were flirting vigorously with each other. Many state he even gave her an affectionate kiss."

"It was a kiss on the cheek!" I hollered at the TV.

"They can't hear you, Jen." Grace leaned forward to grab her drink off the coffee table.

"A man tells, he was scared off by Martinez for lightly flirting with the brunette."

"That'll teach him for messing with another man's girl," commented the lanky woman as her partner chuckled.

"Hold on a minute Angela. For all we know she could just be a friend." The man said.

"Exactly!" I exclaimed.

"Okay, Stan, what exactly do we know then?" Angela sounded unconvinced, but cemented a smile on her lips.

"From what we've dug up, we know that the mystery brunette is Jennifer Anderson of Anders boutique-"

"Oh, I've heard of that," Angela interrupted accidentally.

Stan nodded, but didn't steer away from the story as I felt a little bliss that someone gave recognition for Anders on television. "She actually attended the same college as Marcos, so they do have some history together."

A picture of me from Instagram showed up behind the two and I looked phenomenal. Usually the news would pick terrible pictures of people. In the photo, I held a strawberry in my mouth. I had on red lipstick and my icy blue eyes were glowing.

"What kind of history?" Angela cunningly smiled.

"We don't yet, but we'll have more on the story tomorrow."

I sighed. I thought Marcos was working on getting rid of this story, but it seemed like it was going to get bigger and bigger.

"I was hoping you'd end up with Hunter, Jenni," My mother shook her head lightly.

I frowned. I didn't want to hear his name right now. "Me too," Grace added to my frustration.

I looked over at my father and hoped he wasn't going to be an additional supporter for Hunter. "Dad, please say you're not on team Hunter too."

Dad stood and shook his head negatively. "Of course not."

I sighed thankfully too quickly, "I think you'd be nicely paired up with one of my colleague's so-"

My loud groan interrupted him, I wasn't looking for anyone and I didn't want to look for anyone nor did I need to. I plunged into a turquoise sofa chair and brushed excess hair out of my face.

"What's wrong with Hunter?" Grace asked. "He's a great guy and your childhood best friend."

"He has one quality both a great guy and a best friend wouldn't have and that's being a liar." I blurted out. Once I told a bit of what was wrong, I couldn't help but add on to it. "Can you believe he has been lying about his life ever since he came back? His job, his financial standings, his-" I paused when everyone began to have a guilty look on their faces.

"Don't tell me you all knew about this?" I questioned.

"Ever since he left, I've never liked him." Dad grumbled as he pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge.

"It was the city that changed him and you know that." Mom replied to my father's remark.

Grace put up her hands in surrender before saying, "I didn't know anything until they told me the day he arrived."

"You all knew and didn't even bother to tell me!" My anger spurred.

My mother had a pained look in her eyes and like Hunter's, her eyes darkened when she wasn't happy. "He begged us for years not to say anything, and that it'd be best if he told you face to face."

"If you ask me, he's a coward," my father commented.

"Dad," Grace gave him a disappointed look.

"What?" His shoulders shrugged.

"You've known about everything for years?" I stared at the faces casted downward. They silently nodded their heads. "Now that I know you all know, can you all tell me?"

"If he still hasn't told you everything, then we can't." Mom replied.

"Why not?" This whole thing was upsetting me. "Don't I have a right to know?"

"Yes, but it's very important to him that you're not informed."

I was confused, I didn't understand what Hunter what trying to do, nor did I get why he was preventing me from knowing anything. I wanted answers whether or not Hunter liked it. I had waited enough for him and I wasn't planning on waiting any longer. I also didn't want to force it out of my family who had only taken part in filtering out any information about him that had gotten to me. He was the mastermind in all of this, not them.

"I'm important too," I frowned.

"We understand that, Jen. Look at what role you play, you're the center of attention in this entire situation." Grace said.

"Grace is right, Jenni. It's not like he's not going to tell you, he'll tell you soon." My mother gently placed her hand on top of my shoulder and sent a supporting smile my way.

** **