Fake Dating My Ex's Hockey Star Brother (Maya Scott) novel Chapter 275

Epilogue 10

Epilogue 10

ALLISON’S POV

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“Fans were excited to hear you were cast for this film and expressed their trust in your capabilities. Do you think that trust adds pressure, or does it feel more like a motivator?”

I consider that for a moment, tilting my head slightly.

“Both, honestly. I think anyone who tells you public trust doesn’t add pressure is lying.” I laugh softly. “But I’ve learned to sit with that feeling instead of running from it. These are people who have followed my work for years, who showed up even when I went quiet. So yes, it’s pressure but it’s also the good kind. It makes me want to be better.”

Jane nods. “Speaking of going quiet, you took a year away from the industry. That’s not a small decision, especially at this stage of your career. What was that year like for you?”

“Necessary.” I answer. “It was necessary and it was hard and it was the best thing I could have done for myself. I needed to remember who I was outside of all this and spend time with my family.” I gesture loosely at the cameras, the lights, the whole setup. “I came back knowing exactly why I wanted to be here.”

“And did you miss it? The work itself?”

I smile slowly. “Every single day. I’d be watching something and I’d feel this itch. Like I want to do that. I want to be in a room making something real.” I pause. “Missing it told me everything I needed to know.”

Jane glances down at her cards. “This new role is quite a departure from what audiences know you for. Your character, Diane, is morally complicated in a way that I think will genuinely surprise people. Were you nervous to take that on?”

“Terrified,” I say. “Diane is not easy to love. She’s not meant to be. And there were days on set where I wasn’t sure I was doing her justice because I kept wanting to make her more sympathetic than she actually is. But the director kept pulling me back. He’d say, stop apologizing for her. And that note changed everything for me.”

“Stop apologizing for her,” Jane repeats. “That’s a powerful note.”

“It really was. Because I think as women we’re conditioned, even in performance, to make

ourselves palatable. Diane doesn’t care about being palatable. Learning to not care on her behalf

was its own kind of freedom.”

Jane smiles. “Last question, what do you want people to feel when they walk out of the theatre?”

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I’m quiet for just a moment.

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“Unsettled.” I say it plainly. “And then when they’re lying in bed that night, I want them to think about

Diane. I want her to sit with them a little longer than they expected. That’s when you know a story actually landed.”

“Allison,” Jane says warmly, “thank you so much. This was genuinely wonderful.”

“Thank you for having me. Really.”

The audience applauds and Jane reaches across, and we shake hands, both of us holding on for

the cameras to take more photos.

*****

Immediately I step into the parking lot, I spot Justin.

He’s resting against his car, wearing a pair of dark pants and a t-shirt paired with a baseball cap.

He’s also holding a bouquet of flowers held loosely at his side.

“Is that my darling husband?” I ask, as I draw closer.

His face splits into a grin and he spreads his arms wide. “The one and only.”

I walk straight into his arms and he wraps me tightly, the bouquet pressed against my back. I can

hear the faint click and shuffle of cameras somewhere to the left as paparazzi find their angles but

I’ve long since made my peace with that. They’re just part of the background now.

“Proud of you,” Justin says against my hair. “How’d it feel?”

I pull back and look up at him. “Good. Really good actually.”

“Yeah?”

I take the flowers from him before he forgets he’s holding them. “Yeah.”

He beams, and I pout a little because he’s so sweet. I’ve done this many times – the interviews,

the press days, the whole circuit and each time, without fail, he shows up like it’s the first incredible

thing I’ve ever done.

“Where’s Donna?” he asks, already reaching for my bag.

“I sent her home. She looked exhausted.”

He takes the bag off my shoulder. “She needs to rest.”

“That’s what I said.”

Donna is my PA and basically the reason I haven’t crashed and burned out. She handles everything

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for me and I love her because she’s very efficient. Today, she seemed down and when I asked, she

said it was nothing. But I still sent her home in case she had some private things to settle and even

added a bonus too.

“I hope she’s fine.” I say as we get into the car.

He pulls out of the lot smoothly and we are barely past the gate when he mutters under his breath.

“These paparazzi piss me off.”

“I know.” I turn my face toward the window. “I’ve gotten used to it, sadly.”

He exhales but says nothing else.

The city moves past the window and I let my shoulders drop for the first time all day. Going on this

show and getting interviewed is supposed to create the buzz for my new project. Unfortunately,

promotion is now a next level business in film making and this is just the beginning for me.

“I’m starving,” I say.

Justin smiles, eyes his still on the road. “Good thing I made dinner then.”

I exhale completely, sinking back against the seat. “I love you.”

“There’s more.”

I turn my head. “More what?”

“I found that perfume you wanted.”

My eyes narrow.

I think back and finally remember the perfume oil made by the small seller I stumbled on through a

Tik Tok video. I ordered it and then used every last drop to my satisfaction.

Obsessed, I went back to order again and found nothing. It was out of stock and then the page

went quiet for close to five months now. I’d accepted that some things just weren’t meant to last.

I turn to face him fully. “How. Where. Is it actually her? Are you sure it’s the real one?”

“I’m sure.”

“Justin, she stopped making it. The woman stopped-”

“I reached out to her.” He cuts in. “I asked if she’d make another batch just for you.”

My jaw drops. “Seriously?”

“Twelve bottles.” He adds. “So you don’t run out quickly.”

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My eyes start to water and I blink hard because I am not crying in this car over perfume. Except it’s not about the perfume and we both know that.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” I manage. “You’re the best. You’re actually the best.”

“I do have one idea,” he says, “of something you can do.”

“What? Tell me, I’ll do it.”

He glances at me briefly, a small smile at the corner of his mouth. “Renew our vows with me.”

I press my lips together.

And immediately in my mind, I make a promise to myself – if I come back in another life, I will find

him first. I will love him like I only have one minute left. I will make sure he never once frowns from

hardship. And in this life, right now, I love him more than I have ever been able to put into words.

I reach across and take his right hand, sliding my fingers through his.

“I would very much love that,” I say. “It’s been ten years already. I love that.”

He lifts my hand and presses his lips to the back of it. “I love you.”

“I love you more.” I say, smiling as I rest my head against the window.

Outside, the sky is beginning to soften into the evening. I’m still holding his hand when I notice two

birds, perched side by side on a wire. Just sitting there, in their own little bubble, unbothered by everything happening beneath them.

Somehow, I feel like that’s me and Justin.

People always say love is complicated. That life is heavy and relationships take work and passion

burns itself out eventually. And maybe for some people that’s true. But with Justin, it has never felt

that way. With him, it feels like we are two birds, just rushing through whatever peace and joy life

has to offer, side by side.

Just us, in our bubble.