Alter Ego: His Sultry Lover

Chapter 224: Look Up

“Please send over your routine to me once you reach, tomorrow,” she pleaded. She really wanted to support him in any way possible. The only thing she could think of was to follow his routine and make him feel like she was there with him in spirit. 

Deep down, she knew that she was doing this more for her sanity and nothing else. 

“I’ll send it to you,” he said, his tone slightly brighter than before. “I really wish I could see you before I leave,” he groaned, the longing evident in his voice. The idea came to her before it hit him. 

“When will you reach? Can Stephen arrange for you to get into the airport without being noticed?” she asked quickly. His tired brain couldn’t catch up. 

“It’s H city. The paparazzi is always at the airport to catch a glimpse of celebrities. But yeah, Stephen could do that. Why?” 

“Have a full breakfast. I’ll meet you at the airport.” The decision was made. It would take some while to go to the airport and come back. With Stephen’s help, she would be able to accompany him for a while. That sounded lovely. As long as they could do it surreptitiously, nothing would go wrong. 

She would just have to look out for the sneaky people with cameras. 

– – – – – 

Cage was sitting in the car Stephen had booked for them. Stephen was looking at his watch ever so often and texting furiously on the phone. 

“Who are you texting?” he asked, feeling bored. He had stormed through his closet to pack his belongings for the long trip. He usually had a bag packed at all times, but this time, it seemed sort of special. He didn’t know why. 

He remembered Katherine saying something about coming to the airport but she hadn’t texted him since. He was rather sad that they hadn’t spoken in a while. There was a hole in his heart. After spending five days, glued to one another, they had rarely had time to speak or Skype. It was usually him falling asleep or too tired to tease her or be a romantic fool. She had also gotten extremely busy with the competition and all the hoops she needed to jump through. 

As soon as he remembered the competition, he pulled out his phone and typed in her name. Lo and behold, the trailer for the competition and her channel popped up in the searches. He hungrily took in how well the trailer was produced, excitedly commenting to Stephen about how talented Katherine was and how everyone paled in comparison to her. 

Stephen was mildly amused. 

“Don’t worry, I have asked someone I know to keep an eye out for her. I’ll introduce the manager to Katherine when her channel grows. Right now, she is fine to manage it herself. The equipment she uses is good too. No worries.” It was odd to see Stephen so proactive. 

“You really like Katherine,” Cage commented in awe.

Stephen looked at him with a grossed-out expression. “My best friend loves this girl and she is an amazing human being. What’s there to not like?” he shrugged for greater effect. “And don’t worry about the manager. It’s a backup plan. I am charging you for it,” Stephen said with a small snicker. 

Cage lit up like a Christmas tree. “You really do know me the best. She would never want the fanfare. But she is too charismatic. She’s be trending soon and growing pains can do a lot of damage.”

“And you’re too worried. Lily is a photographer and Angelina is a model and influencer. She has some good people backing her up,” he commented. His phone lit up once again and he started to reply. 

Cage was reassured. 

[I miss you already.] He sent. There was no immediate reply. He decided on watching her introductory video again. He knew that this would be a great pastime while he was between scenes, just taking a break. He wouldn’t be able to call her, but he could watch her in peace. 

Time seemed to fly. They had reached the airport in no time but Cage was not ready to leave. As he sneaked into the airport, he imagined all the ways he could cancel the movie and just live at Katherine’s apartment. 

The penalty fee would be too high. And he needed to make enough money before he could retire and recede from public view.

He was sitting and fiddling with his ticket when Stephen announced that he needed to grab something. Cage didn’t think much about it. Simply because his mind was still stuck on how his girlfriend had yet to reply to his message. 

‘She forgot,’ he thought. He was not inherently an insecure person. Despite spending time with her and knowing that their feelings for one another were genuine, he always wondered when the ball was going to drop. 

Shaking his thoughts away, he dialed her number and pulled it to his ears. It took a couple of rings for her to pick up. 

“Hey,” Katherine’s sweet voice came through his phone. It was somewhat noisy in the background, but she also sounded breathless. “Where are you?” she asked. Her tone was plain as if she had forgotten where he was supposed to be. 

“The airport,” he replied, suddenly disappointed. 

“Mm.” She hummed. Cage could hear that she was walking and somewhat absent-minded. 

“Yeah. I was too tired last night. Couldn’t talk to you properly.” No reply. He heard a quiet gasp from her and straightened up. “What’s wrong?” he asked, feeling on edge. That gasp was something he recognized. He didn’t like it if something or someone else elicited it from her. 

“How can a man look this good?” she commented. Cage’s heart froze. He was about to ask what she was talking about when he heard her breathing quicken. “Look up,” she commanded. 

On response, his head snapped up. Right there, in front of him… just a few meters away, stood his girlfriend. She was wearing the hoodie he had left at her apartment. The one she had stolen.