Juniper was such a wonderful girl; it was only right to be wary of others on her behalf.


    Juniper was at a loss for words. She couldn''t very well tell him Lue was a woman, could she?!


    After a few seconds of silence, Juniper scooted closer to him, her clear eyes fixed on his. "I said you don''t have to worry, and I meant it."


    Shanley hadn''t expected her to get so close. If he just tilted his head down, he could easily touch the tip of her nose, her red lips.


    "There is absolutely no chance that Lue and I will ever be a thing," Juniper said, licking her lips and adding with rare patience, "and I''m not interested in any other men, either. Does that put your mind at ease?"


    Shanley''s breathing grew ragged. He fought back the surge of emotion rising within him and asked in a low, husky voice, "Am I included in ''other men''?"


    Juniper''s delicate brows furrowed in confusion. She was literally sleeping in his bed. How could he even ask that?


    "Oh," Juniper pouted, then said with a straight face, "If you''d like, I can lump you in with them."


    "Don''t."


    It dawned on Shanley, and the tightness in his chest instantly eased. He instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist as she started to pull away, his tone surprisingly meek. "I don''t want that."


    They were so close that when Shanley spoke, his warm breath fanned across her face. As their eyes met, an intimate tension, thick with unspoken feelings, began to spread between them.


    If either of them moved even a fraction of an inch forward, their lips would meet. Juniper''s gaze settled on the man''s face. Slowly, her eyes drifted downward... Hmm. This older man''s lips were actually quite nice. What would they feel like to kiss?


    Just as Juniper''s mind began to wander, Shanley suddenly pulled his hand back. "Ahem. Be a good girl and sit properly."


    Juniper didn''t understand, but she figured he must be cated now, right? No more jealousy over Lue? No more random moodiness? Good enough.


    "Okay," Juniper said, happily returning to her game.


    Shanley turned his head away, feigningposure as he adjusted his clothes to hide the evidence of his arousal between his legs. He really was a dead man!


    ...


    Time flew by.


    ud


    In the blink of an eye, a week had passed. There were less than two days until the music video release and the overseas music awards ceremony. The online news about Junipers "cast couch" scandal was indeed spiraling out of o


    It got to the point where everywhere Juniper went at Aurora High School, she could hear all sorts of gossip.


    The most ridiculous rumor of all was that she hadpromising photos of Mr. Tate, which was why he had to do whatever she said. Others imed that she was two-timing, cheating on her ancient, white-haired sugar daddy by secretly hooking up with Mr. Tate. Someone even posted online that she should write a book titled "How to Make an A-Lister Fall for You", adding earnestly that they would "sell their soul to learn her secrets."


    "Juniper, don''t look. It''s all just hatements." Qadir, who had been


    furiously replying to troll quickly


    covered his phone


    reen when he


    saw Juniper leaning over.


    "Tsk." Juniper stuffed her backpack into her desk cubby and propped her chin on her


    hands, her big eyes staring nkly at the ckboard.


    “Juniper, don''t get mad,” Queenie and Dolce chimed in tofort her. “These morons would probably have a heart attack if they found out Mr. Tate is your brother."


    Juniper blinked. Keeping it a secret was turning out to be a real pain.


    In that case, why not just go public?


    Juniper pulled out her phone and sent a message to Jimmie on WhatsApp: [Do you want to go public with our rtionship?]


    Seeing the message, Jimmie''s hand trembled violently. He carefully typed back a few words: [Are you serious? Can we?]