The negotiation ended in a stalemate-neither side got what they wanted.


    Afterwards, when Ste uncovered the truth about Mr. Walden, any hope of a constructive conversation between the two vanishedpletely.


    And now...


    It turned out star was Ste all along.


    The revtion didn''t just leave Haynes reeling-even Benson, who prided himself on keeping his cool, felt a headacheing on.


    Driving down the avenue, Benson nced at Haynes and broke the silence. "Since Ms. Cameron is star, I doubt she''ll be willing topose for Ms. Pearce anymore. Should we start looking for someone else?"


    Haynes''s lips parted slightly. "Star..."


    He repeated the name, his dark eyes distant, lost in thoughts Benson couldn''t guess.


    Benson waited, but no reply came. After a long pause, he cleared his throat and tried again.


    "Mr. O''Brien, do you think we should find a newposer for Ms. Pearce?"


    "That won''t be necessary." Haynes snapped out of his reverie, voice steady and certain. "She''ll agree."


    ***


    The next morning, Ste had just dropped Marvin Connolly off at preschool when her phone rang. It was Abby.


    "Star! Did you see the news? Antoney''s trending again!"


    Ste was driving, hands tight on the wheel. She hadn''t had time to check the headlines.


    "What happened to Antoney?"


    "Someone leaked some nasty stuff about him. I''m handling PR, but it''s not working-whoever''s behind this has real evidence. Looks like they''re waiting for things to hit a fever pitch before they go public with everything at once."


    Antoney was a bona fide celebrity by now.


    With his chiseled good looks and raw musical talent, he''d won the hearts of countless fans-especially young women. He might not have been at the absolute top of the entertainment world, but he was close enough to rub shoulders with the A-listers.


    "Where is Antoney now?" Ste asked.


    "I told him to stay put in his apartment. Canceled all his gigs for today."


    Ste turned the car around. "I''ll go check on him."


    ***


    When Ste arrived at Antoney''s building, she found a crowd gathered out front- neighbors and strangers alike, all murmuring among themselves.


    "I heard Antoney got a woman pregnant, refused to take responsibility, then just disappeared..." someone whispered.


    "They say the woman''s been a wreck ever since struggling with depression for years."


    "Her parents ran into Antoney recently-and now they''vee looking for him."


    Following the others'' gaze, Ste spotted themotion at the center of the crowd: a middle-aged couple, faces red with anger, had Antoney by the cor.


    Behind them stood a young woman in her twenties, clutching a small child. Her voice trembled as she pleaded, "Honey, please just look at our child."


    Antoney gave her a cold shove, pushing her away. "That''s not my kid. You''ve got the wrong person."


    At that, the woman''s mother


    erupted, her voice cracking as she wept and shouted, "Antoney, you monster If you hadn''t taken advantage of my daughter, how would she have gotten pregnant?! You promised to marry her lied so we wouldn''t call the police!"


    "And now you want to walk away like nothing happened? Don''t even think about


    it! If you don''t give us an answer today, I''ll make sure the whole world knows what kind of man you really are!"


    "Everyone-look at this man!


    let


    Antoney, who took advantage of my daughter tricked her into staying quiet, abandoned her, and then ran. Take his picture-post it online Let


    every girl out there know what kind


    of person he is, so no one else gets hurt!"