Chapter 1

A text message pinged on Melissa’s phone, she clicked on the link included without thinking. She didn’t bother reading the content of the text knowing it was from her younger sister and assistant, Lindsey.

Usually, her sister sent her links about charity events she could attend, rumors about a new movie, or news from their parents. From time to time, she sent her funny videos to make her laugh.

This link, however, had nothing to do with any of this. When Mel read the headline, her heart stopped.

The video appeared grainy at first as the cell phone camera adjusted to the dim lighting in the club. Her current boyfriend, Brandon Allen, was smiling at the camera. An overly busty blonde sauntered into view, showing more skin than clothes, dancing seductively as she made her way toward him. He reached for her waist and pulled her onto his lap. She straddled him, her legs wrapping around his very private area in very plain sight.

Her brain screamed at her to stop watching. Something inside begged her to look away, turn it off, throw her smartphone across the room, but she couldn’t. It was obviously bad enough for Lindsey to send it to her, so she had to keep watching. No matter how much it was going to hurt.

The blonde’s skirt rode up, revealing her bare ass, and Brandon’s hands were suddenly there, squeezing it, slapping it, lifting her skirt higher. Then he fisted a handful of her hair, and yanked her head back, causing the rest of her hair to spill provocatively behind her. His lips pressed against her neck as he licked his way up to her mouth. She laughed, and then he kissed her. It was a mess of tongues and body parts grinding, with hands roaming in places hands shouldn’t be roaming in public.

She had seen more than enough, so she stopped the video and tried to remind herself that she didn’t love Brandon. Their relationship was mostly a publicity stunt trying to revive their careers. They had been part of a very successful show in the past, Teenage Dreams, and their characters got together in the show finale.

Mel played the part of a small-town girl who moved to the big city. Her character was well-liked by the fans. Even now, three years after the final episode, she was still popular even when she hadn’t been able to land a good role, mainly because she couldn’t shake off her girl-next-door image. She starred in several made-for-television romantic comedies. The movies were sappy an unrealistic but they helped to keep her career alive.

Pushing off from the couch, she walked to the hotel window and glanced down toward the street, noticing the swarm of paparazzi already beginning to form.

They were quick. Like sharks smelling blood.

This wasn’t the first time claims of infidelity like this had been leveled against her ex-co-star/ boyfriend, Brandon Allen, but it was the first time evidence of his cheating leaked to the media.

Falling back on the couch, she tried to unsee what she had just watched. She couldn’t believe Brandon was so blatant and stupid. He was probably high on those darn pills.

It was kind of ironic because she had done the same thing to her high school boyfriend. It was just her karma returning to bite her in the ass.

Melissa had been his best friend, and his girlfriend until she cheated on him destroying all the dreams they had.

She wondered what her old boyfriend, Spencer, thought when he read the news. Did he laugh and thought what happened to her was poetic justice? Did he still care about her?

Melissa was pretty sure Spencer still hated her. She hated herself for what she did to him. The last time she checked on him, he was still single. Probably too bitter about what had happened between them to trust his heart to another woman.

Staring down at her cell phone, she scanned the various tabloid headlines being sent to her nonstop from her sister, her agent, her manager, and her publicist.

“Brandon Allen Cheats on America’s Sweetheart with Stripper!”

“Brandon Allen Caught in Cheating Scandal with silicone blonde!”

“Not the First Time Brandon Cheats on Mel – Read the whole story on pages two to five!”

Then her phone rang. It was her sister’s ringtone.

“What now, Linds? Brandon had an affair with the Golden Bears Cheerleaders?”

“Mel, that’s not important now. I just got a voice mail from Mom. I send it to you. You should listen to it.” Her sister’s voice sounded like she was crying.

Mel found and played the voicemail with shaking hands.

“Lindy, this is your mother. There is no easy way to say this, but ... your father is dead. The doctor said he had a heart attack. He said he didn’t suffer...” For a couple of minutes, all she could hear was her mother sobbing. “Please, Lindsey, I need you and Milly to come home. I need both of you with me.”