Chapter 54 - You’re Serious

"People from Keira Higgins' side confirm that the couple are back together and married. What is the cause of this secret wedding? We speculate in our next session," the reporter said, a wicked look on her face. The media was having a field day.

Ever since the pictures were uploaded, there had not been a single day since he was called by the media outlets and asked questions. He refused all interviews and went on with his life, talking to Rinten and playing the game in his off time. The movie had done very well in the first week and was estimated to do even better on the following weeks to come and Cage was happy about that.

Now, this morning, suddenly Keira had thought it apt to declare that they were married. He ground his teeth as he thought about how shameless she was to say something so easily disprovable.

"You said she wouldn't be this stupid," he ground out, glaring at his manager.

"I didn't think they would resort to that," Stephen groaned. "What do you want to do?" he asked angstily.

"We are going to deny the ordeal. It's been 5 days since the news came out and it's blowing my mind that people think I will take her back." He ran his hand through his hair, taking out his frustration.

"Why are you so pissed, though. This isn't the first or last time this will happen."

"I… I am talking to someone and I don't know how to explain this to them," he groaned, dropping his head into his palm as he scrubbed his face.

"You didn't tell me! Who is she? A model?" The other was excited, but in a bad way. He didn't think it apt for Cage to be dating so soon after his breakup with Keira.

"No. I met her online."

"You told her who you are?" Stephen panicked.

"Absolutely not," he shot his manager a look. "I really connected with this girl and someday if it comes to it, I will have to explain what happened. This situation is too complex and I don't want my future relationships to be ruined because of it." Cage sighed.

"You're serious." Stephen was flabbergasted. "What do you know about her?" he asked, curiously, taking out his phone to take notes.

"Don't think that this is a trap. Just a girl I am talking to. I trust her," he said with a small smile.

"It's my job to protect you, Cavanaugh. Tell me everything you know about her and show me the chats. I need to know if you have given yourself out." The panicked expression on his manager's face made him gulp.

He handed over his laptop and phone, opening the sites and applications and for the next half an hour, his manager went through his most personal messages with Rinten. He was burning with embarrassment. Those were private.

"Nothing is private between us," he heard Stephen say, as if he could hear what Cage was thinking. "This is incriminating!" He pinched the bridge of his nose. "You could be talking to a stalker who figured out who you were or you could be talking to a minor. This could be solicitation."

"I have spoken to her and heard her voice. She is definitely legal," he said firmly.

"You don't know that, Cage. I need to… I need to find out who this girl is… This is for your safety. I can't let your horny ass get into trouble! Your career is on the line…" He trailed off, levelling Cage with a glare. "You can't talk to her unless I explicitly tell you that it is okay."

"Please don't invade her privacy." He was scared. He knew nothing related to him was a secret from his team, but this was downright humiliating.

"I have to. I am doing this for you!" His manager raised his voice. "I wouldn't have minded if you were talking to another celebrity. Not this much… but this could be anyone. Your cyber team is going to start working on them. I will allow you to talk to her until I find out more and if she is not problematic. You can continue."

"You're involving the cyber team?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I am sorry." He apologized, but that didn't make things any better.

"Just be careful. I don't want to hurt her." The look in Stephen's eyes softened.

"I understand."

- - -

"The world thinks you guys are married. But people are starting to question why you aren't living together." Her manager said in a low voice as they got down from the car.

"We're just under the process of moving, of course. It's all logistics," she rolled her eyes.

"Do you want to go through the comments on the internet?" Keira nodded, expecting to see some hate.

'If he takes her back, he is pussy-whipped.'

'Bitch cheated on him and he took her back? I don't think so. There is something fishy here.'

'Why do I feel like this is all a joke? Cage hasn't established the facts yet and he is just lying low, not talking to the media. It's like he wants to hide from all of this. Highly suspicious.'

'You're right. I smell a conspiracy. What if this is all a hoax to create hype? I never heard anything from Cage's side and I can see that this scenario helps out Keira the most.'

Keira stifled her anger.

"They think I am lying."

'You are lying,' her assistant thought, but didn't say anything out loud. "How do you want me to take care of this?"

"I'll take care of it." Her manager eyed her suspiciously.

"Run it past me," she ordered, before looking through the comments one more time. She wasn't getting nervous, it was Keira who was being paranoid. She wouldn't stop even if the manager asked her to, so the manager just kept silent and hoped for the best.

It was difficult having such an artist.

- - -