POV Lucian

I don't know what went through my head, but I pretended to have missed my flight today. 

Well, I did miss my flight, but it was on purpose. If I wanted to make it in time to the Toussaint Louverture airport, I should've driven back to Port-au-Prince at dawn. However, when my 4 a.m. alarm woke me up this morning, something inside of me felt that I couldn't leave Arcahaie yet. 

Needless to say, Coach Morel was furious. He promised to make me run a thousand laps when I'd finally get my ass on American soil on "Wednesday." My subterfuge only bought me a little less than forty-eight more hours in Haiti. But I intend to put every last one of them to good use.

"So long story short," Maëlla says over the phone as I'm running on the treadmill in my workout room. "You got super scared of never seeing her again, and now you want my help to organize a surprise date."

My sister's conclusion makes me frown at the screen, which only makes her devilish smile grow wider. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to video call her after all. 

"That's not what I said. Were you listening to me at all?" 

"Oh I was, trust me, big brother. I also noticed the way you were looking at her on Valentino's birthday."

Sisters and their wild imagination. A curse I am forced to live with for the rest of my life.

"Okay, let's not even go there. Your theory is completely ridiculous."

"What theory?" She asks with a falsely innocent voice. "I haven't said anything yet. Unless you think there's something to have a theory about."

"I'm going to hang up," I threaten.

"Fine, fine! I'll help you set up a 'not date'. Let's brainstorm."

For the rest of my workout session, my little sister comes up with several ideas that we proceed to cross out based on feasibility and whether Akhyra is more likely to hate the whole thing. It takes a while to find an option that would allow her to enjoy the ambiance without having people around, but we get there eventually. 

Maëlla makes me promise to give her an update about how the "not date" goes before hanging up, and I jump in the shower to get ready to go over Coach Morel's house. I'm not usually a singing-in-the-shower kind of guy, but this morning, I find myself doing my own rendition of Classic by MKTO while shampooing my hair. 

By the time I get out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist I'm still going through the lyrics, "I wanna thrill you like Michael. I wanna kiss you like Prince." I think it's one of those cases when a tune is stuck in your brain in spite of your will. Simple as that. There is no need to read much into it. 

I hesitate between two shirts even after placing both side by side on the bed. To get rid of the burden of making the right choice, I snap a picture and send it to my sister.

Me: Sky Blue or Lavender? 🤔

Maëlla: Is this for the "not date"?🤭

Me: Do you still want those photocards of Jungkook you asked me to bring next time?😏

Maëlla: Let me think... They both look good. You said she's a Taylor Swift fan?

Me: How is that relevant?

Maëlla: ANSWER THE QUESTION.

Me: Yes.

Maëlla: Go with Lavender. What color of pants are you wearing?

Me: Black.

Maëlla: That might feel a bit too formal. Match it with white pants to lighten up the look. Plus, style your hair like when you're about to do a sports interview.

Me: Did I mention you're awesome??

Maëlla: NOT ENOUGH.

***

Half an hour later, I'm knocking on Coach Morel's door. When Valentino opens, he looks at me with a puzzled expression. 

"Aren't you supposed to be on a plane?"

"Missed it. Akhyra's here, right?"

I expect him to move aside to let me come in but he remains standing at the entrance.

"She and Hannah left a few minutes ago. Miss Morel got invited to a super private thing by some rich dude around here. I think he owns a hotel or something."

"She got what by who?"

There's no way I heard that right. Akhyra doesn't go out if she can help it. She hates being around people.

"Date. Rich dude. Don't know when she'll be back," he states in a monotonous voice. 

"How did that even happen? She just got back here last evening."

Valentino shrugs like he couldn't care less. "No idea. Look, I kinda have a lot on my plate right now, so I'll tell her you stopped by." He starts closing the door but I stop him by placing my foot in the gap.

"Wait, hold on. You don't happen to know the name of the hotel, do you?"

He eyes me suspiciously. "What hotel?"

"The one you said Akhyra went to?"

"I never said she went to a hotel. Miss Morel hates these places with a burning passion."

"But you literally just said-"

"That the guy she went on a date with owns one."

"Oh."

"Are you all done interrogating me?" He asks, visibly upset.

"Why are you being such a massive dick this morning?"

"Why are you busting my balls at 8 AM to ask about my boss?"

Technically it's nine in the morning but I guess it's a fair point.

"I'm sorry, dude. Thanks for your time."

Valentino closes the door in my face without an answer. Something is definitely up with him, but I don't have time to dwell on what it is. Since he wasn't that much of a help, my last resort is Hannah. Let's hope she's in a better mood than Mr. Grumpy over there. 

I dial her number as soon as I get in my car. It rings for a while, and I begin to worry that it might go to voice-mail, but then she answers.

"Lucian? I thought you left?"

I don't have the energy to go over the missing flight and go straight to the point. "Are you with Akhyra right now?"

"More or less," she answers with hesitation. "What's going on?"

Shit. I didn't think this through. What am I supposed to say now?

"Nothing," I answer in what I hope is a nonchalant tone. "I won't be leaving today as planned, maybe I could stop by in case you guys need a chauffeur."

"Thanks but we got this covered," she replies curtly. "If that's all, then I'm going back to work."

"Hannah, wait a second, please."

"Yes?"

It's not like her to be that cold, and after the treatment I just received from Valentino, my instinct tells me they might be trying to ghost me. The question is, why?

"Look, I have this feeling that something happened but you and Valentino aren't willing to tell me. Because I stopped by the house earlier, and he just about kicked my ass like I wasn't welcomed. Now I'm getting a weird vibe from you too. Correct me if I'm wrong."

After a short silence, Hannah lets out a sigh. "You haven't seen the article?"

"What article?"

"It's already taken down because Miss Morel threatened to take them to court, but I captured some screenshots. Hold on."

Hannah remains on the line as I open the images she has just sent me. It's an article in two versions, French and English, published by a Haitian online media I have never heard of. 

Following the ostentatious headline: "New Haitian Power Couple: Sizzling Sparks Between Akhyra and Lucian!" There's a picture of Akhyra and me that was taken from a distance on the day I played football with the kids and she bought them sodas. The whole article is a bunch of nonsense about how Akhyra and I have been visiting Arcahaie together emphasizing that I'm the first man who's not a member of her staff with whom she's been spotted out publicly. Then it goes on to make some very crass praises about my football career. There are pictures of us, leaving the orphanage, and others taken by the beach on the day we went to buy seafood for Valentino's birthday.

"This is crazy," I mutter when I'm done reading. "Where did that come from?"

"I thought you'd know."

"Why on earth would I know anything about that?"

"Lucian, I don't mean to be rude, but it can't be a coincidence that those pictures were taken while you chauffeured Ms. Morel around town. Besides, this article does sound like you were using her spotlight to make yourself look good."

"I would never do that!" I protest. "Is that what you guys think of me? Someone must have been following us around. It wouldn't be that hard for people to know where I am. I grew up here, everybody knows me. Anybody who wants a scoop to get five minutes of fame could've taken advantage of that."

"Look, I hear you," Hannah answers with empathy. "But I'm not the one to be convinced. You'll need to have a serious talk with Ms. Morel."

"When are you coming back? I'll stop by again later."

"Actually you could come here. We're filming an interview. This would be a good occasion to clear things up. I'm sending you the location."

"Thanks Hannah." I can't help asking, "How was the date, by the way?"

"What date?"

"Valentino told me you took her on a date with some big name guy?"

The moment she starts laughing, I realize that I've been played by curly boy.

"He probably said that to piss you off. Valentino can be very protective of Ms. Morel and right now, you're the bad guy." 

"Well, I'm on my way to clear my name."

"Waiting for you."

The location that Hannah has sent me is an open-air restaurant located not far from the beach. When I arrive at my destination I notice that the place hasn't opened yet but Akhyra must have made some arrangements with the owner of the place because there's a camera crew set up outside, filming the interview. Because there aren't many people around, it's not that difficult for her to spot my arrival. I remain by my car, not wanting to interfere. After some time, Akhyra seems to ask for a break, and then I brace myself. But she doesn't come toward me. I watch from afar as she speaks to Hannah for a while before going back to the set. 

When Hannah makes her way toward me with the look of a child who just got lectured, I can't help feeling guilty for having put her in a position to be reprimanded by her boss.

"Akhyra wants me to leave?" I ask when she gets close enough.

"Miss Morel said that the only way to fix what happened is if you get on the interview and talk about the fact that you were the chauffeur her father assigned during her vacation here."

"Of course, I'll do that. That's why I'm here."

"Good. Don't mention anything about the article or any dating rumors at all. We're not addressing that."

"I'm not an idiot Hannah," I groan in frustration before realizing how rude that sounded. "I'm sorry. I won't mess up. You don't have to worry."

"Cool. Let's introduce you to the journalist."

I follow Hannah to the set, and it's only when I get there that I realize I already know the interviewer. It's that sports commentator who approached me in the parking lot the day that I went shopping for toys. Patrick Juste. He seems to have a particular taste for tacky fashion. Today, he wears a leopard print shirt with velvet pants. There's a heavy golden chain around his neck that makes absolutely no sense with the outfit. 

When Hannah makes the presentations, he reacts as if we haven't met before, and I play along. Akhyra already believes that I've been plotting with the press behind her back. I don't need her to think that I'm associated with this guy.

My part of the interview is over rather quickly. I stick to the script that Hannah and I rehearsed and only answer the questions that I'm asked. Akhyra doesn't look my way not even once, only keeping her attention on Patrick. She is smiling for the camera and appears to be relaxed, but I can sense the storm brewing underneath this calm facade.

After the interview, Hannah walks me back to my car while apologizing that I wasn't able to talk to Akhyra. "She's in a terrible mood right now, but maybe it'll pass soon."

"Don't worry about it. I'm glad I was able to help out in some way. " Something keeps bugging me though so I ask, "How did you come in contact with that journalist?"

"He reached out to Valentino when you both were in Port-au-Prince. He wanted to have an exclusive about Miss Morel's time in Haiti and her performance at the folklore festival. I'm thankful to him that we were able to stop this stupid article before it spread."

"What do you mean?"

"When he talked with Tino and I, he asked if Ms. Morel would agree to answer questions about her new relationship. I was like, what are you talking about ? He sent us a link to the article."

"What a lifesaver," I mutter reluctantly. 

"You don't say. I have to go, looks like they're shooting again."

"Thanks Hannah, for allowing me to come here and explain my side of the story."

"Don't mention it. To be honest, I never really thought you did it. You seem like a good guy, Lucian."

When I get inside my car, I dial my agent's number, who answers immediately. 

"Lucian what's up?"

"Hey Kevin, I'm going to give you a name. Can you check if he reached out to you for an interview since I've been here?"

"Alright shoot."

I give him the name Patrick Juste and what I know of the guy so far, which isn't a lot. The line goes quiet while Kevin does his research, and then he comes back.

"I got nothing from him. Is he someone you wanna get in touch with? I could arrange something."

"God, no. As a matter of fact, if he or anyone who represents him, reach out for an interview. Tell them we're not interested."

"I see. We're putting him on the red list. What did he do?"

I don't have the answer to that yet but there's something off about him.

"He just keeps showing up around me, and I don't like that. I'm getting a bad vibe from him."

"Well, I'll be on the lookout and let you know if there are contacts."

"Thanks man."

"Just doing my job. Have a good day."

After hanging up, I notice that a new message from my sister is waiting for me.

Maëlla: Did she like the surprise?

Me: Change of plans. I'm not doing it anymore. 

Maëlla: Why?? What happened??

Me: She's busy right now. She has a career to take care of, remember?

And I'm not going to be the guy to ruin this for her by stirring up dating rumors. It's best we don't see each other again before I leave Haiti. Which won't be difficult because clearly she doesn't want to see me.