Know Thy Enemy

Five years ago, Kayleigh wanted to be a megastar. Now she was. But greed was an insatiable monster. She had been given an inch, and now she wanted the whole yard. The more time she spent with Austyn, the deeper she fell in love with him. She idolised the man. What if their relationship could be taken to the next level? What if the man belonged to her, heart, mind and soul? But Austyn’s question poured cold water on her daydream. With a start, she realised she’d overstepped the bounds. Unnerved, she hastened to explain, ‘It wasn’t me. I didn’t ask the paparazzi to take those photos. Someone must have leaked my itinerary…’ In a tremulous voice, she tried to convince Austyn of her innocence. But his silence, accusatory in her view, was too much to bear. She burst into tears. Shaking like a leaf, she could barely stand. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She made no effort to wipe them away. Austyn frowned imperceptibly. He took another drag on his cigarette and crushed the butt beneath his heel. ‘It’s getting late. You should get some rest. Let your assistant take you to the hospital in the morning.’ He started to move away. On an impulse, Kayleigh threw her arms around him. She begged him in a quivering voice. ‘Please, could you…could you stay here tonight?’ Austyn extricated himself from her embrace. ‘No.’ The curt rejection threw her. Resentment welled up inside the actress. Austyn had already moved past her. She whirled around, bursting with pent-up frustrations. ‘What did I do wrong? It’s been a year since you stayed the night here!’ She was on top of the world a year ago. Austyn spoiled her, gave her everything she wanted, made her a household name. She knew the man could be reserved, almost aloof. Kayleigh had to content herself with being the only woman by his side. But now, he’d grown more distant. Weeks could go by before she saw him. When she called him, their exchanges were often brief, his answers brusque. Whatever time they did spend together was measured in minutes and filled with one-sided conversations. He never stayed at her place anymore. What changed? Austyn didn’t reply. Kayleigh stood rooted to the spot, watching him leave the apartment without a backward glance. She didn’t know how long she had been standing on the balcony. The tears on her face had dried. The chime of the doorbell shook her out of her trance. She opened the door to a tall, well-built man. He hustled into the house. Kayleigh crossed her arms and asked the man, blank-faced, ‘Did you find anything?’ ‘I’ve made some progress,’ the private investigator said. He removed a folder from his pocket and showed her the stack of photos inside. ‘These are taken over the past month.’ Kayleigh reached out a hand to grab the folder, but the PI stepped back. ‘Before that,’ he said with a calculating gleam in his eyes, ‘perhaps we should settle the matter of payment.’ Irritated, Kayleigh stomped into the bedroom and returned with an envelope taken from the safe. She tossed it to the PI. ‘One hundred thousand dollars,’ she scowled. ‘Take it and leave.’ The PI took no heed of her attitude. He gladly received the envelope and appreciated its thickness. With a smile on his face, more genuine this time, he gave her the folder. ‘If you have another job in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me. I’ll offer a 10% discount, seeing that you’re a repeat customer.’ He slipped the envelope into his pocket and slid out of the apartment. Kayleigh slammed the door shut. She hurried back into the living room and dumped the photos onto a coffee table. They were of Austyn and a girl, a fresh-faced twenty-something. A close-up of her features revealed two lovely dimples. In several shots, Austyn and the girl were seen heading into a villa together. Kayleigh’s eyes widened in shock. She clenched her hands, oblivious to the pain as her sharp nails dug into flesh. She recognised the villa. It belonged to Austyn. Kayleigh had fantasised about becoming the mistress of that place countless times. But she knew it was just a pipe dream. Austyn was intensely territorial. The villa was his private property. Outsiders were denied entry. But he allowed this girl to come and go, and even walked side by side with her. Kayleigh seethed. The night was chilly, but she was burning up with rage. She fixed her gaze on the photos. It was like watching a train wreck. She didn’t want to torture herself by staring, but she just couldn’t look away. It took her a long time to notice a small hand-written note attached to the back of one photo. The PI had put together a brief profile on the girl. Name: Kira Hewitt. Age: 21. Occupation: university student. Other information: to be determined. *** Achoo! Kira sneezed. She rubbed her nose and wondered who was talking about her behind her back. Covering her mouth with one hand, she tried to stifle a yawn. ‘Tsk-tsk,’ the girl sitting beside her teased Kira. ‘What did you do last night? You look like you’re suffering from both a cold and a lack of sleep. Did you run a marathon in the rain?’ Well… The girl wasn’t that far from the truth. Austyn tormented Kira till midnight. She hardly caught a wink of sleep. Then a phone call from Kayleigh summoned him away. Kira stayed up late, apprehensive that he might return and decide to resume their nighttime ritual. But Austyn did not come back. Kira dozed on and off, starting at every noise. When she finally closed her eyes, it was the crack of dawn. ‘Hey, did you hear the scoop about Kayleigh Woods?’ Her classmate was tingling with excitement. ‘Check out the new beau she’s dating! Some people just have all the luck. She’s already rich and famous and drop-dead gorgeous. Now she’s hooked herself one of the most eligible bachelors in Stamford.’ ‘Who is he?’ a girl behind Kira chimed in. ‘Is he a celeb? How come I’ve never seen him before?’ ‘That’s because you only ever read the gossip mags. He’s not in showbiz. The male celebs can’t hold a candle to this man.’ ‘Who is he then?’ ‘Scion and only heir of the McCarthy family, star of many a girl’s wet dreams. To say he was born with a silver spoon would be a gross understatement. He comes from a family of movers and shakers who hold sway over the government. The name McCarthy should ring a bell with you. They are interviewed frequently by the state media. You might have seen their faces on TV.’ The girls around Kira oohed and aahed, awed by Kayleigh’s big-shot boyfriend. Kira was just as surprised. She knew Austyn’s family was rich. She would have to work several lifetimes to afford her father’s medical bills. To the McCarthys, however, it was chump change. But she had no idea the family wielded that much influence.