Page 193 of Off Limits Mogul

“When Chelle spotted Paxton, she lost her mind. After recovering from the shock, she declared she was going to dosomething about her long-standing infatuation. I cautioned her, reminding her guys like Paxton tend to go for socialites, actresses, models and singers. Chelle took offense to my warning, reminding me we were singers, and about to become the biggest girl group on the planet. She accused me of thinking too small and being stuck in a loser mentality for not upping my game when it comes to men—it was a jab at you. Back then, SCORE wasn’t what it is today. I washed my hands of it because I couldn’t handle her when her bitch dial was on high. I didn’t stick around to watch her put the moves on Paxton. When I caught up with her later, her mood was off. I asked her what happened with Paxton. She said he wasn’t as interesting as she thought. I was floored. All that pent-up lust for a fleeting moment of utter disappointment? I mean, she couldn’t shut up about the guy. I didn’t understand, but I didn’t push. Later in the evening, Paxton cornered me, stating he’d been eyeing me all night, and he wanted to take me out on a date. It threw me for a loop.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I was flattered, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. He demanded to know why?—”.

“Prick.”

“Although handsome, I wasn’t attracted to him. I didn’t tell him that. I turned it into a joke and told him if he was interested in one of the Lucky Break girls, he should ask Chelle out instead of me. That’s when he showed his true colors. He told me Trinity and Henley hit on him, but they’re not his type. As for Chelle, he made a disparaging remark about his high standards and her weight, stating he’d never be seen with a girl who has no control over what she puts into her mouth. I was dumbfounded. When I picked up my jaw from the floor, I was done with the asshole. I excused myself and left his sorry ass standing there.”

“How did that encounter turn into a feud over a douchebag?”

“Chelle had lied to me about Paxton—she didn’t lose interest, he turned her down. In public—but I wasn’t going to bring it up. I figured it was best to let it go. The next day she started acting strangely. It started with her only having acuppafor breakfast. By lunch, she was doing the whole carrot-and-celery-sticks-with-hummus routine. I called her out on it, but she assured me she wasn’t hungry. She skipped dinner that night. During the following weeks, she spiraled down this crazy yo-yo diet path. Because Chelle was so desperate for attention––and yes, coming from me it might sound hypocritical considering I wanted fame as much as she did, but I drew the line when it came to what I was willing to share on social media––she shared everything. Not surprising, it opened the door to criticism and haters. Since no one can live on these restricted diets forever, Chelle would go on these massive food binges. She was obsessed with her weight. As a result, her mood was all over the place. She was bitter and bitchy. As time passed, the unhealthy obsession moved to her looks. She turned to plastic surgery with a vengeance. It was all documented online. I tried to step in as a friend numerous times, but she kept pushing me away. She was nasty about it, too?—”

“I still struggle to understand how she could just shut the door in your face like that. She was your best friend. God knows I’ve had my disagreements with Noah, but we always work things out. We even managed to navigate through the biggest point of contention that could’ve caused a permanent rift between us––you.”

We exchange a small smile.

“The pursuit of fame fucked Chelle in the head,” I say. “That’s the best way I can explain it.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Soon, Chelle bonded with Henley, who preached the virtues of cosmetic enhancements. She took extreme measures to change her appearance a year into our fame because she hated everything about herself.”

“What a pair,” he says. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting a little enhancement if you’re unhappy with what God gave you, but in their case, it was an addiction.”

“Exactly. In any case, I didn’t know you could suffer from heartbreak over the loss of your best friend, but every time I saw Chelle cozying up to Henley, it was like a stab in the heart. The finality of our friendship was unsettling, but in time, I grew cold and threw in the towel.”

Rhys shakes his head.

“Through it all, Chelle never stopped pining over Paxton. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was doing all this shit to her body for him. Flash forward eighteen months after we got our big break, and Lucky Break is topping music charts around the world. At the release party for our second album, Paxton was there. Again.”

“Don’t tell me,” he says. “He still wouldn’t give Chelle the time of day.”

“Pretty much. And at that point, she was a walking stick-figure.”

“It’s a shame she gave him that much importance and power,” he says.

“It was.”

“Did he hit on you again?”

“He did. In fact, he never stopped. He constantly reached out to me on social media, asking me to reconsider. I always turned him down. Even though I wanted to chew his head off, I was always polite because once it’s out there, you can’t take it back. I didn’t want screenshots of our conversations to go viral, showcasing me as a raving bitch.”

“Why the hell did he keep pushing?”

“I doubt it had anything to do with me,” I say. “It had everything to do with the fact I dared to turn him down. Very few women refuseto be seenwith Paxton Foley.”

“None of that gives the foundation to support the outrageous accusations Jedd made.”

“They don’t. Like I said, Chelle blew things out of proportion and lamented to her mother.”

“You’re going to have to give me a little more to go by,” Rhys says. “Your best friend’s mother thinks you’re responsible for her death.”

I take in a deep breath. “A week after the launch party, Paxton contacted our publicist out of the blue to arrange a date with Chelle.”

His eyebrows knit together. “That’s quite the turnabout.”

“I wasn’t buying it. Even though Chelle and I had grown apart, I couldn’t let her walk into the dragon’s den without a warning. I told her Paxton had been hitting on me since the first launch party, even though I turned him down several times. I knew it was a risk, but I wanted her to wake up to who this guy was at his core. I even took it one step further and revealed some of the mean things he said about her.”