Zara

An internal debate ensued as we circled the block. I needed him with me when I walked into that house even knowing that I was setting him up for a huge confrontation with my father.

All too soon we pulled up to my home. There were so many of them lining the front of my parents’ property, all waiting for us. There were four police officers spread across my lawn. I hoped there weren’t any other incidents in Lanai today, since half the police force was standing guard at my house.

Lance opened the window to speak to the officer pacing at the end of my driveway. “Hello, sir. We need to get into the house. My friend lives here.”

“Are you the gentleman these people are here for?” With the window now down, the clicking noises and barrage of questions made it hard for us to hear the officer’s response.

“I am.”

The officer’s facial expression gave a pretty clear picture of what he was feeling. With a scowl on his face, he moved the barricade to let the cab through.

“I don’t know who you are.” The cabdriver spoke for the first time since we’d gotten into his cab. “But can I get an autograph?” He twisted in his seat, stretching the piece of paper and pen in his hand toward Lance. Lance scribbled his name with a tight smile on his lips. Gosh, everyone wanted something from him. He was just a man.

Lance then gave the cabbie another hundred-dollar bill, which caused him to say, “Thank you, thank you, God bless you.”

He turned toward me and skimmed his hand along my arm. “Are you ready?” It hit me how something as simple as getting out of a cab or walking up my driveway required an organized effort. The most mundane things I took for granted, like walking Marshmallow, would probably forever be changed. Would I ever be able to again? How long would these people stick around to harass me?

His gorgeous blue eyes looked sad as he gave me a small smile. “I love you,” he added barely above a whisper.

My eyes cut to the rearview mirror to see our driver’s eyes focused on us. “I love you, too,” I said with my own sad smile.

With a final squeeze of my hand, he dragged in a deep breath. “Okay, baby. Let’s go. I’ll follow behind you.”

I nodded, grabbing the handle of my bag. Lance did the same, opened his door, and we each catapulted out of the cab. He positioned himself behind me before we ran toward the house. Instant shouting and screaming came at us from all directions. The synchronized clicks of their cameras as we dashed up my steps sounded like a swarm of locusts were attacking.

When we barreled through the front door, four pairs of eyes landed on us. Lance slammed the door shut behind him and sighed. Marshmallow came bolting over to where we stood, dancing around our legs and whimpering, demanding attention.

My father stopped his pacing while Palu, Kaholo, and my mother looked up from where they sat on the couch.

My mom gasped at our appearance. I dropped my bag with a loud thump when she practically ran to us and threw her arms around me. “Oh, Zara. We were so worried.”

“I’m fine, Mama. We’re fine.”

From over my mother’s shoulder I watched in slow-motion as my father crossed the room and pointed at Lance menacingly. “You! I knew there was something deceptive about you!”

I pulled away from my mother and immediately moved to Lance’s side as he spoke. “Sir, if you’d let me explain—”

“I know enough! You took advantage of a good local girl to get your kicks with while you used our home for your own selfish agenda!”

“Andres!”

“No, Talia. I will not keep silent anymore. He lied to us, to her.”

“Papa, he had to. You know nothing about Lance’s life.”

“He is not this Lance person. He is a movie star who doesn’t belong here with you!” My father’s voice amplified with each word. He now stood there shaking with fury. His dark complexion reddened, and his ebony eyes darkened even more as he continued to glare at Lance.

“Andres.” It was Kaholo’s turn to try and calm him down. He placed a large hand on his shoulder, which my father shook off in frustration. Poor Marshmallow sounded like he was in pain whining over the fact neither Lance nor I was paying attention to him. Before I could bend to lift him, my father snatched him up and walked him to my bedroom, slamming the door shut after he’d put the dog inside.

A pained look crossed over Lance’s face as I watched him work a swallow. My father returned, stalking right over to Lance, coming a few feet away from him with his fists clenched at his sides. My father was not a violent man, but the way he stood now concerned me.

Yet Lance never cowered. He met my father’s glare with concern etched all over his face. “Mr. Jobert. If you’ll just let me explain the circumstances—”

“I’m not interested in your explanations now,” my father interrupted, stepping even closer to us. His voice was now eerily calm. Although I knew him well enough to know he was anything but. “Your explanation should have come long ago. Before you used my daughter and this town for your benefit.”

“He didn’t use anyone!” I took Lance’s hand between both of mine. My father’s eyes zoned in on my act of support, and he shook his head.

“He is not welcome here, Zara. You can decide if you choose a lying, deceitful, poor excuse for a man or your family.”

Anger mixed with hurt almost made it impossible for me to speak. I swallowed the lump of angst that had lodged itself in my throat. My father opened his mouth to speak, and I lifted one of my hands firmly. “If this is how my family acts, completely irrationally and unsupportive, then I want no part of it.”

“Zara,” my mother said barely above a whisper. “Your father doesn’t mean that. Andres, stop this right now. I will not lose another daughter.”

“I’m sorry, Talia. I refuse to allow this. We are simple people. We came here for a safe, simple life.” He pointed to Lance and sneered. “He represents everything we ran away from. His power, his money, and his belief that he is above everyone else were the reasons we left South Africa.” My father’s words were ironically describing the man he had once been. Powerful, wealthy—that Andres Jobert was worlds away from the one standing before us. Regardless, he was essentially condemning Lance for his own past life…and I wouldn’t have it.

“Don’t you dare compare Lance to someone we both know you still blame for losing Lilou,” I said through gritted teeth. “And by hiding behind the insane, irrational need to protect us, you choose to ignore the real reason Lilou is gone.”

The shock on my father’s face and his sudden silence meant I’d hit a nerve.

My mother grabbed my father’s arms and twisted him to face her. “We came here because our daughter was brutally murdered, and we had two others we wanted to protect. This man is not a murderer. Zara is absolutely right; you are completely irrational, and I won’t stand here and watch you destroy this family because of your paranoia.”

“How dare you defend him over me!”

He shoved away from my mother so forcibly it caused her to stumble and fall backward. My father gasped her name as his eyes widened in horror. Kaholo immediately helped her up. She clambered to her feet with tears welling in her eyes and pure disgust written all over her face. I couldn’t believe what was happening. At my first sob, Lance pulled me into his arms. I desperately clung to him, wishing it all would stop.

“Talia. I’m sorry.” He reached for her and flinched when she stepped away from his touch.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Talia.”

“No. I can’t do this anymore, Andres. I can’t pretend I’m okay with your behavior.”

The remorse my father had felt a few seconds ago immediately dissipated, his expression turning livid once again. “Is that a threat, Talia? After all these years of tirelessly giving you a safe place to live and providing a home where our daughters could grow up to be smart, beautiful young ladies, after all my sacrifice it comes down to you choosing a movie star over me?”

“Papa, it’s not a matter of choosing him over you.”

“Quiet!” He turned to me menacingly. I didn’t recognize the man who stared at me with such contempt. “He has ruined our lives!”

“Andres,” Kaholo said, moving closer to try to calm him down.

“Don’t touch me!” Storming toward the door and yanking it open, he pointed to the crowd. “Do you see that? It’s all because of him!” Flashbulbs erupted in frenzy as my father stood screaming like a maniac in the doorway.

Lance pulled free from my grip. He slowly moved to the door and shut it firmly. Except for my mother’s sobs, no one uttered a word until my father said, “You aren’t welcome here. Do you see what you’ve done? Zara always put this family first until you came along. You are destroying us. It’s time for you to take your famous self and leave.”

Before Lance even spoke, by just the way he briefly looked into my eyes, I knew I wasn’t going to like what he was about to say. The defeated look on his face caused a chill to course through me.

“I am so sorry for bringing all this to your doorstep. Yes, I am a famous actor who is cursed with what you all witnessed today. But, I am a man first, and I am a man who loves your daughter.” He glanced at me once more before turning back to my parents. “But I love her enough to walk away. I will not be responsible for splintering your family.”

“No.” I grasped his arm defiantly.

“Zara,” he said with a firm shake of his head. He then turned to Palu and Kaholo. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You took a stranger and made him feel at home. Words cannot express my gratitude.” And finally, he looked at my mother with a sad smile. “You have raised two spectacular women.”

Lance moved closer to put his hands on my face. “I love you.”

“No. I won’t let you just leave me.”

“This isn’t me leaving you. This is me giving you time and space. This is me giving you your life back, Zara. It’s the best thing for now. Trust me. Mend your family. Mend your life. By leaving, eventually the media will all move on and you’ll be able to live your life again.” His thumbs brushed away my tears while the corners of his lips lifted in a sad smile. “Tell Spike I’ll miss him. Show him my picture so he doesn’t forget me.” He tried to add some levity to my heart-shattering moment, but my tears only came harder.

With a resigned sigh, he pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “Zara, I love you. I need to go back and take with me all the angst I caused you and your family. I love you too much to force you to live the way I have to.”

The tears wouldn’t stop. I hated that we had witnesses standing there, intruding on our moment. I hated my father for causing this. I hated that I already knew Lance had made up his mind, and there would be nothing I could do or say to convince him that I didn’t care about all that he came with—I wanted him.

Most of all I hated that he was famous.