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Emma stared at it like it was a live grenade.
"Answer it!" Yali urged, leaning over and swiping the green button, instantly tapping the speaker icon before Emma could stop her.
"Emma?!" Michael's voice filled the room.
He didn't sound angry. He sounded completely panicked, his usually smooth voice frantic and rushing over his words.
"Michael, hi, I-"
"Emma, I swear to God I didn't know," Michael blurted out before she could even finish her sentence.
The background noise suggested he was still in the back of his SUV. "I just saw the post. I have no idea how someone took that photo. I deliberately picked a quiet place because I wanted you to be comfortable, and I am so, so sorry. Please tell me you don't think I intentionally set this up for PR for the book. I would never do that to you."
Asha, Yali, and Carla all looked at Emma, violently mouthing, 'Told you!'
Emma's frantic anxiety vanished instantly, replaced by a wave of overwhelming fondness.
She quickly snatched the phone off the table, tapped off the speakerphone, and held it to her ear, walking swiftly out of her hotel room and into the quiet hallway.
"Michael, breathe," Emma said softly, a gentle smile returning to her face. "I don't think you set it up. Actually... I was panicking because I thought you were going to be angry at me. I thought you might think I called someone."
Michael let out a massive, heavy sigh of relief on the other end of the line. "God, no. Never. I was just terrified you were going to hate me for dragging you into a media circus on our lunch."
"I don't hate you," Emma said blushingly, leaning back against the wall of the corridor. "And I really don't care about the photo, as long as you don't. You don't have to worry about me."
"If you're fine," Michael said, his voice dropping back into that low, tender tone that made her knees weak, "then I am entirely fine. I'll have Evans handle the PR side. Just... don't let it stress you out tonight."
"I won't," Emma promised, twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "Have a safe flight tomorrow."
"I'll text you when I land," Michael promised.
"Goodnight, Emma."
"Goodnight, Michael," she said softly.
She hung up the phone, taking a deep, happy breath in the hallway before bracing herself to go back into the lion's den with her friends.
"So..." everyone in the room said in unison.
Emma just smiled, and three of the girls started teasing her relentlessly.
Meanwhile, on the Internet...
The X post from the gossip account had ignited an absolute firestorm.
Within an hour, it had crossed platforms, dominating TikTok algorithms and Instagram explore pages.
The timeline was a chaotic blend of shock, theories, and unhinged fangirling.
@PipAndRaviStan: WAIT A MINUTE. HOLD ON. IS THAT THE AUTHOR?! IS EMMA MYERS DATING MICHAEL OWEN?! THIS IS NOT A DRILL 🚨🚨🚨
@BookTokGirlie22: HE WROTE THE SHOW SHE IS STARRING IN! THIS IS THE ULTIMATE Y/N WATTPAD TROPE AND THEY ARE LIVING IT IN REAL LIFE I AM SCREAMING AND THROWING UP 😭😭😭
@Literary_Crit: Wait, I'm sorry. Michael Owen, the 21-year-old prodigy who just launched a massive global charity campaign with UNICEF... is on a secret countryside date with Emma Myers?🫠🫠
@AGGGTM_Updates: Look at the way he's looking at her in the second picture! 🥺 He looks completely mesmerized. Oh she bagged the genius, good for her honestly.
@CinematicWhore: the internet: trying to figure out if it's a PR stunt.
me, an intellectual: zooming in on the book on the table trying to see if he gave her an advance copy of The Fault In Our Stars.
@DailyPopNews: #EmmaMyers and #MichaelOwen trending #1 Worldwide. Representatives for both parties have declined to comment, but sources say the two have been inseparable on the set of their new BBC/Netflix collaboration.
@TissuesAndTears: IF HE WRITES A ROMANCE BOOK ABOUT A BLONDE ACTRESS WE WILL KNOW EXACTLY WHO IT IS ABOUT. MARK MY WORDS.
@EnidSinclairSupremacy: First of all, she looks stunning. Second of all, I need a 10-part TikTok deep dive into their body language right now because he is leaning in so far he's practically in her lap. THEY ARE SO REAL.