I Heard A Rumor Read Free Page A

to do this again. She wasn’t going to let him interfere with her and Liza’s friendship, like he did when they were engaged.
    Liza deserved her happiness with Jackson. Besides, what kind of life would she and Robert have had? It was clear that their engagement had been nothing but a political tool. She would’ve found out too late that he was a no good piece of cow dung, and then where would she have been? Depressed and divorced?
    I bet my mother would accept me as a divorcée more than she would like me being single for the rest of my life, she thought bitterly.
    Chante made sure Robert was gone, and then she headed to the uptown YMCA to take her aggression out on a heavy bag.
    When she arrived at the YMCA, Chante realized that hiding out from the media wasn’t going to be easy. Two photographers appeared out of nowhere as she walked into the gym. Chante sidestepped them and hid out in the locker room, where she overheard two women talking about Robert’s interview on the news.
    â€œI can’t believe how desperate some women are,” one said as she stuffed her feet into her sneakers. “That man slept with a hooker and she took him back?”
    â€œSo you don’t believe in forgiveness?” the other woman asked.
    â€œHell no. He might have some STD, and she’s so desperate that she’s going to stand by him. Bye, Felicia.”
    â€œI mean, I would think she would have more pride, but who knows? That man looks like he can put it down.”
    â€œShe’s dick-matized, then?”
    When Chante heard the women laughing, she made her presence known. “First of all, you can’t believe everything you see on TV,” she said. “And from the looks of both of you, I’m sure you would take any man who smiled at you into your arms and forgive him for all of his shortcomings. Don’t judge me because you have no standards!”
    Chante strode out of the locker room, leaving the two women with their mouths hanging open. As she walked into the lobby, she saw a cluster of cameras and reporters standing out in front of the Y.
    â€œThere goes my peaceful workout,” she muttered when she locked eyes with one of the reporters.
    She wasn’t going to live like this, running from the media and arguing with strangers because of Robert’s lies. As much as she wanted to go home to Summerville and hang out with her father, Chante knew she’d have to explain too much to her mother, who would somehow make this all her fault.
    Charleston. That’s where she could go and snuggle up with her grandmother until all of this blew over. If she were lucky, while she was gone some athlete or another politician would make the news for something even more ridiculous than Robert’s stupid press conference. She dashed out the basement entrance and avoided the waiting reporters.
    Heading home, Chante made up her mind to go to her grandmother’s house in Charleston and relax in the South Carolina sun. When she arrived at her house, she wasn’t surprised to see a TV truck parked on the street. Part of her wanted to flip the cameraman and the reporter off, but she just walked inside and started packing for her trip.
    â€œI’m going to enjoy getting out of this city,” she muttered as she stuffed her clothes into her suitcase.
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    Sunset in Charleston was a sight to behold, Zach thought. Either that or he was very drunk and everything just looked gorgeous. As he stood on the balcony of his hotel room, he watched the golden light of the sun bathe the city. Maybe Charleston was where he needed to start over. No one here knew who he was or, more importantly, who his ex-wife was. But Zach couldn’t deny that he was a son of the city. He’d grown up in the Bronx, in Riverdale, where his father, Zachary Sr., made the family’s fortune in real estate.
    After his father’s death, Zach took over the company, moving into all of the