3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Fenella

Lavinia: should have kept the ring

Coral: champagne would have been better than Pepsi. Except ours, bad publicity

Rupert: whole thing is good publicity for Tiger

Milo: will trash his next song

Lavinia: concert! Fun!

Gunnar: am I allowed to say I have no idea what u saw in him?

Coral: not ur best choice babe

Fenella: I would have appreciated a told you so earlier

Rupert: I think I did

Ashton: I know I did

I send a furious face in response.

No one likes the I told you s o when they make a mistake, especially of a romantic nature.

And especially when the mistake has been splashed over the internet.

I don't need to scroll through a lot to find the video. Two days after the very public breakup of Tiger and me, it's still the most-watched video on YouTube.

I don't know why—it wasn't even that exciting. I threw the ring and a bottle of Pepsi at him.

Maybe I should have thrown the actual bottle.

Heiress in a snit

Famous for doing nothing.

Temper tantrum terror

Tiger gets blasted.

Meow!

I close my screen. Then I close my eyes. Even though Tiger was in the wrong, no one has picked up on that. He cheated on me. He kissed three different women in one night. And how many would he have stopped at if I hadn't walked in on number three?

And this was the man I wanted as my husband ?

In hindsight, maybe I didn't exactly want him as my husband. It was fun being seen with Tiger, especially at his concerts, even though I really didn't love Opium's music. But his tattoos intrigued me and dating him also really upset my mother.

My father hadn't cared one way or another. He was too busy getting the prenup prepared.

I remember when I told them I was dating a rock star. My father was more interested in how much money Tiger earned, but my mother's attention had been entirely on her martini—gin, dry, three olives, marinated in vermouth and with the pits removed.

Only the best for my mother. She takes her martinis seriously, which makes sense since the drink could be a metaphor for her life—dry and a bit salty.

Granted, it wasn't the first time I had told them I was in a relationship with a musician, so that could explain the lack of reaction. But looking back, there hasn't been much of a reaction to anything I do for a while now.

Did I love Tiger? In all honesty, no. Not really. I liked him well enough. Would I have eventually married him? Probably not; but if I'd gone through with it, it would have ended in a quickie divorce, and I darn well would have ensured I got the sympathy for it.

The breakup was a surprise and I wasn't ready for it, which is why I came off as an unhinged shrew.

www.ilovetigeropium.com's words, not mine.

I heave a sigh and set my phone down.

This mess has come too soon after the video of me crowd surfing at the Olivia Rodrigo concert where I accidentally kicked a young fan. I really didn't mean it; someone had grabbed my bum and I kicked out in reflex.

That had been the day after my ranting post on abortion rights had gone viral, and countless comments wondered if I was pregnant. When Tiger had publicly denied it, someone had started the thread about how it wasn't his baby and WhoisthefatherofFenella'sbaby? began.

I haven't been looking too good lately. So much, the internship with Carrington, the one I've been hoping to start for two years, fell through.

Again.

My father said it had been a board decision, that they didn't think my image was suitable for a toy company. My image as a party princess, an heiress to the most profitable toy company after Mattel—and that was only after the Barbie movie—and the woman who claimed to be able to tame the baddest boy of rock may not fit the family company, but I do.

I have so many ideas and no one will listen to them.

It didn't help that my twin brother Ashton convinced Dad to sponsor a NASCAR car with Ashton driving, only to have him lose his temper and intentionally bump another car, sending them both spiralling out of the race with only one lap to go .

Dad said it embarrassed the company, which is worse than embarrassing him.

My phone chimes yet again and my twin telepathy has me picking it up.

Ashton: u ok?

Well, that's nice. But he didn't use the group chat so he can keep his grump status intact.

Me: of course

Ashton: you lie

Me: just a little

I can tell Ashton anything, but there's no sense talking about this with him because he made his dislike of Tiger apparent at the very beginning. It had something to do with him dating the ex-girlfriend of Opium's drummer. Or maybe the sister of the guitarist? I can't remember.

I need a wider circle of friends.

I roll over onto my back. My friends ask why I haven't gotten my own place, but when your parents own three homes—four if you count the new villa in Turks and Caicos—and your every need is taken care of when you stay in one of the houses, why would I get my own place?

And I definitely don't want to live with my brother .

My room—a suite of rooms, if you're being particular—was decorated in a sage green back in January because I had gone through a difficult breakup back then and it was better for my spiritual well-being to have a relaxing colour palette.

I think I should change it to hot pink because I am fired up about Tiger.

My phone chimes again before I can pull up my Pinterest décor page. There's no twin telepathy this time, just a general unease because it's my father's ringtone.

Dad: join me for dinner tonight

That's never a good sign.

I don't know if it's good or bad that this isn't a family dinner. It could be about what happened, but it could be because I spoke to Dad again last week about taking a position within the company. I want to show the world I'm not just a cover girl. Plus, I was impressed with Prince Gunnar taking on more princely duties in Laandia.

Prince Gunnar is one of my ex-boyfriends, but the only one who has become one of my best friends. We spent a few weeks together back in February, and I got invited to the royal wedding of his brother Prince Odin and Lady Camille back in June.

I had a mild flirtation with his eldest brother Kalle, the crown prince of Laandia when I was there, but that's neither here nor there .

I like Laandia. After New York and London, and Barcelona and Tokyo, Laandia is one of my favourite places to visit.

It's only my father and me for dinner, as my mother is still at the London house, and Ashton is somewhere in Europe. We talk mainly about Ashton, and I give him the gossip because Dad enjoys that.

I think everything is fine—until it isn't.

"My dear girl, I need you to keep a low profile for the next bit," Dad says, swirling his second glass of Cabernet Sauvignon from our Napa vineyard.

"Has the board said anything?" I demand.

"No, and they won't if you can remove any connection between you and that degenerate singer selling tabloids. It's a conservative board and they will not understand."

I don't understand, I imagine my father saying, but he would never because that would initiate an in-depth conversation about my likes and dislikes, and romantic relationships, and our father-daughter bond doesn't do well with talks like that.

"Do you understand why I was so upset?" No one has asked about the why behind my outburst, which means they already assume Tiger must have cheated or knew and didn't tell me.

"My darling girl, it doesn't matter what I think, or what he did or you did or if neither of you did anything. You are in the public eye, which is your choice since you continue to play around the world."

I'm not sure if playing or partying sounds better.

"When people see you in that light, you will always be at fault, even when you're innocent of any wrongdoing," he continues in his mild lecturing voice. He never really gets upset with me.

My therapist suggests I have issues with the fact my father never gets upset about anything I do. I'm not sure I agree. My mother seems disappointed in everything, so it's a refreshing change to have one parent on my side.

"I am innocent," I say in a quiet voice.

He pats my hand. "I know, but unfortunately no one else will see you that way. Let's talk about you taking a little vacation. A quiet little vacation."