The Lion’s Forbidden Mate

Making her way downstairs, she took her bags out to the bus and made sure she got everything onto the bus and set aside for her when they boarded and took off. She wanted to head back inside and get something to eat before they took off. They always stayed in incredible hotels, the kind of hotels that Lucy would otherwise never have been able to stay in. She loved the continental breakfasts or whatever meal they had available. It was the kind of exciting display of food that she got all warm and toasty for in the morning. It was something special to have breakfast waiting for them.

Inside, she found herself one of the first people who was up and ready to go. A lot of people slept in until the last moment or they would use the gym in the hotel before they went. Lucy hadn’t used a gym in the first month that they had been touring and she was already missing it. But she was taking care of herself. Becca had warned her about eating things that she would regret later on down the road and she’d been certain to take care of her body up to this point.

Inside the breakfast lounge, there were a few people nestled in the corner of the room, talking quietly, and another group of people scattered about way in the back, reading the newspaper or spooning their cereal into their mouths quietly as they were waiting for the day to begin. She didn’t want to bother them in any way. She wanted to respect them and make sure that no one was bothered by her appearance. On days when they were traveling, she always looked extremely disheveled and comfortable, never waiting to get dressed or look better than she had to. There wasn’t any point to it.

“Lucy,” a voice said from behind her.

She spun around and saw herself looking face to face with Violet staring at her with a kind of look in her eyes that told Lucy there was nothing random or happenstance about this meeting. She was here for a reason that was beyond what her quiet presence implied.

“What a lucky coincidence meeting you down here,” she said with a smile on her pretty face, her lovely appearance nothing more than a lie being carried around as a mask for her.

“Good morning, Violet,” she said with an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

There was something inside of her that told her she should tread carefully. As she looked at Violet, her mind tried to get through the myriad of scenarios roiling around in her head, tipping over everything again and again. She looked at woman, not sure what this was about.

“How was your night?” Lucy asked her, trying her hardest not to sound like she was hiding anything or surprised by this little chance meeting. In fact, she wanted to sound perfectly happy to see Violet.

“It was short,” Violet yawned as she poured herself a bowl of cereal that was fruity and sugary, designed for children. She looked at Lucy with eyes that were sparkling and holding a secret in them. Lucy didn’t like that look. She didn’t trust it. “You look so beautiful, Lucy,” Violet said after a moment. “I’m so jealous of how effortless you make it look.”

This was a trap. She was probing. Lucy knew it. She knew there was nothing she could do right now to get out of this situation but to ride along with it. She needed to play along and make her happy, make her feel comfortable until the time was ready and she could slip out of here. The moment anyone else came down to the breakfast hall, she knew that Violet would get pulled away.

“Thank you,” Lucy said awkwardly. “I look like a mess though. I’m not as fortunate as to have your good looks.”

“That’s a lie,” Violet laughed suddenly. She turned and looked at Lucy with a chilling stare. “You have the kind of looks that anyone would find attractive. You’re the kind of woman that other women have to be nervous around, that they have to keep their eyes open for. You know how men are. They’re like moths, traveling toward the most attractive object near them.”

There it was. That was all that Lucy needed to hear.

“Oh, Lynn is down here,” Violet said, pouring milk into her bowl and giving Lucy a chilling smile. “It’s always nice talking to you, Lucy. If you see James, tell him I’m looking for him.”

“I don’t know where James is,” Lucy said nervously. “I only see him when he’s on stage.”

“Well,” Lucy’s lie didn’t work; Violet’s voice told her that as clear as day, “if you run into him, you know where to send him.”

The moment Violet left Lucy alone, she put her food down on the counter and rushed out of the room, feeling knots twisting inside of her stomach, making her want to scream and break down and cry. If Violet knew she was having an affair with her fiancé, then that meant they were going to have to come up with a plan to contain this. They were going to need to know what to do when the hammer fell and it all came crashing down.

She felt like she was at defcon four; there was a critical meltdown happening right now and there was no one around her to talk to. She tried to figure out what she should do next. Should she go to see James? She had to warn him. They didn’t have each other’s phone numbers because she had specifically told him it was a bad idea for them to be carrying around each other’s numbers, and now it seemed more insane than ever. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, panicking like there was no hope.

She had to tell James and she had to warn him that he had to stop acting on his interests in her. Maybe that was what he meant last night when he said this was all coming to an end, that this was all too much for him. She didn’t like that idea, but maybe it was all coming to a head. Maybe this was their grand finale. She didn’t know, but as she reached the elevator and waited for it, she tapped her fingers on the side of her leg. Her appetite was gone and only fear remained. She couldn’t panic about this alone. She needed to talk to him.