Chapter 3
As I walked off the stage with my trophy, Nancy and my assistant, Annie Lane, rushed over, trying to escort me out.
But it was too late; the reporters swarmed in.
Cameras and microphones were thrust in my face, and everyone was shouting questions all at once.
Someone asked, "Ms. Hayes, who is the father of your child?"
I was trapped in the crowd, unable to move an inch.
Edward stood nearby, and nobody dared to approach him.
If Edward and I were still together, maybe the reporters would have been more respectful.
I saw Edward looking absolutely stunned, his hand gripping the armrest so tightly his knuckles turned white.
He knew exactly who the father was.
That was why, for the first time ever, the always composed Edward finally lost it in front of everyone.
I didn't give the reporters a straight answer. Instead, I brushed it off with a smile and said, "I don't have a child."
No other champion ever made as messy an exit as I did.
My dress got trampled and filthy, and I even lost one of my earrings in the chaos.
With a horde of reporters chasing after me, it felt less like I had just won an award and more like I was making a desperate escape.
Nancy and Annie were both totally freaked out. After we got in the car, it took them a while to finally ask, "What the hell just happened? You have a kid? Is it Edward's? And where's the kid now?"
There were so many questions flying at me. I just gave a bitter smile, having no idea which one to answer first.
Nancy and Annie weren't with me from the very beginning.
What they knew about Edward and me was found out online.
When I vanished for that whole year, everyone just assumed I had been blacklisted.
Then, when I finally showed up in the dance world again, rumor had it I had been so wrecked by love that I needed time to patch myself up.
But the truth was, nobody in the industry had any idea what really went down that year.
Not even Nancy or Annie knew a thing.
Only after seeing the video today did they, like everyone else, think I had vanished for a year just to have a baby.
A year was just enough time for that.
Nancy was practically bouncing with excitement. She said, "If Edward comes after you because of the kid, you should totally use this as your chance to patch things up with him. Trust me, you'll be raking in trophies non-stop after that."
I shook my head.
Nancy was so stunned she almost banged her head on the car roof. She said, "Seriously, you're not planning to get on Edward's bad side again, are you?"
How could I possibly dare to cross him again?
What I meant by shaking my head was that I didn't have a kid.
There really was a baby back then, but I didn't go through pregnancy.
Nancy still looked doubtful. One year was just the timing.
She was about to say something else, but Annie shoved her phone over. Annie said, "Nancy, check this out."
Nancy said, "The hate trending list is blowing up with my name? Those damn bastards."
Nancy grabbed the phone, took one look, and her expression grew odd.
"What's going on?" she asked, baffled.
There wasn't a single negative trending topic about me, not even an unflattering photo.
And yet, I had just been an absolute mess out there.
It was Edward. He did it.
He could make life hell for someone, or shield them from anything; either way, it was effortless for him.