Chapter 4: An Advantaged Name

*Joe's POV*

The summer heat beat down on me as I walked along the sidewalk. I contemplated on renting a Citi Bike, but my apartment wasn't too far of a stroll. The music playing through my AirPods provided me a quieting atmosphere away from the city madness. I was in my own world. Just the way I liked it.

Nothing was going to disrupt my inner peace I build from the ground up this past year. I was finally in the best place in my healing journey, which meant building up walls that I refused to be torn down. Especially when it came to love.

I loved love. It just wasn't for me, right now at least. In the very far future and meeting the right person that bulldozed their way through my walls would I entertain that idea again. Possibly. Maybe. Unlikely.

Right as I walked up the stairs to my apartment, I froze on the top step and stared at it. Just for a few seconds. Enough that if someone were to have spotted me, they wouldn't have questioned it.

Usually, I didn't share my name to those I randomly hooked up with. It normally was with those that knew me already. Somewhat of a fan, but not obsessively. My fame had some advantages to it when I wanted some nights of fun and games.

I thought that was the case last night, but I was proven wrong when she called me Josh even after sharing my name. I didn't entertain her because of who I was. If anything, she entertained me by giving me a confidence boost for that short period of time. That's right. I still had it in me without being associated with my name.

I scoffed to myself while glancing down at my humorous misfortune, the missed connection from the sudden outcome. A few hours with me led her straight back to the potential love of her life.

A small part of my ego became bruised at the thought of me being the reason, her learning our time together was a huge mistake. But I had to construed it into me leading her in the right direction that had nothing to do with our small moment.

You're welcome, unnamed mystique woman.

As I opened the front door of my apartment, my music came to a stop as my phone buzzed in my back pocket. Upon pulling out my phone while walking in, shutting the door behind me with a thud louder than intended, I exhaled the immediate vexation before picking up the call.

"Yes?" there was no need for a hello.

"Are you sure you didn't forget anything for Wednesday?" Sophie's words were rushed, but held judgment, "The cake? Decorations? Presents? Oh, and head count. How many are able to actually be there? She doesn't have friends in the States. They're all here in London."

"Her many cousins are her friends," I retorted, tossing my set of keys on the kitchen counter before grabbing a can of ready-to-drink mimosa, a gift to myself to take the edge off from this conversation, "I got it all taken care of already. It's already booked. Set for Wednesday at four-thirty. All you have to do is show up with them."

"I told you at eleven," she huffed, "God, Joe. You know, this was why our relationship wasn't working. You barely listen to half the shit I tell you."

"No. We're not going there. Don't even start," I bit my tongue, "And I asked for eleven. Private parties are only between four-thirty to six-thirty on Wednesday. I'll see you then."

Sophie and I had a beautiful marriage until tension began to rise towards the end of the third year. Before that though, we were solid. She was my Yin to my Yang. Always at the hip. Every single morning, I woke up with the mindset to make sure she had the best day. If she was happy, I was happy.

Before we got married, it was still relatively easy. Partying was something we enjoyed together, getting drunk till sunrise. And those days where we chose to stay in, we made it a party of two. We saw the worst of each other, but it never steered us away. It only made us stronger.

At least, I thought we saw the worst of each other.

Even though we both were very much in the public eye, right from the beginning we decided to keep our relationship private. No one needed to know the details of our relationship. And for a while, it worked. Not many negative tabloids were made about us, given the fact we gave everyone barely anything that could've been twisted around. We were that couple that were praised about and rooted for. To everyone, and even myself, we were living like we were in a Disney movie.

But in every Disney movie, the ones that focused on a love story that is, there was always an antagonist that halted a love story. The Evil Queen. Maleficent. Ursula. Lady Tremaine. Mother Gothel. In ours, it happened to be the least person I expected it to be. A plot twist that shook my whole world up.

Sophie.

Our private life was no longer private. I dreaded waking up those first six months. It was all I could see, hear, be around. Details within our divorce were made public, although I didn't fault Sophie in that. That was just how the legal system worked in Florida.

Sure, our sudden divorce broke my heart. We didn't get married to decide to divorce four years down the line. What hurt me the most about it all was the great lengths she went to in order to break me further.

Taking away our kids with her back to London.

It wasn't the slander remarks she made about me during interviews or the ability to move on way too quickly, literally not even a month later. It was our two daughters. Our two daughters we shielded from the spotlight.

From that point on, trust was mostly nonexistent in any romantic interest that caught my eye. Love was merely just a façade in my case. A complete lie. Pointless, even, unless I wanted to get my heart shattered all over again to the point of no return.  I reverted back to partying and playing the field. Not nearly as much as I used to, but anything to try to fill that emptiness I felt from the absence of a ringless finger.

Once I hung up with Sophie, I scrolled up in my contacts. Skimming each name, my finger landed on a random one before I clicked it to call. I put it on speaker as I leaned against the kitchen counter, flipping the pull tab with a pop to tear away a portion of the metal lid.

"Hello?" the woman spoke on the other end of the line, "Joe?"

"Hey, Monica," I faked a cheery tone, but not one that was painfully obvious, "I've been meaning to reach out. "I know it's been a month or two, but with tour coming up soon, writing and recording new music, and all the press we've been doing, I hope you can understand and some grace."

"I don't know," she sighed, "If I do?"

"Well," I paused to take a sip, "You busy tonight? A candlelight dinner, and maybe come back to my place after? I'll make it worth your while. Completely unforgettable."

She took around ten seconds before she replied with a smile to her voice, "You? Unforgettable? Impossible. Text me the details. I'll free my schedule up just for you, Jonas."

My lips formed a smirk, "Perfect. See you in a little, beautiful."

Told you my famed name was an advantage, especially in times I needed to detach from reality. Which was mostly all the time recently.