Chapter 2 :

"Hello?"

"Gina, it's me. I need to speak to Allan."

"Ah ... Uh ... Hello Mr. Solo," stammered the assistant. "I'm so sorry, but Mr. Snoke is not available at the moment."

"Well, tell him to get free, it's very important."

Ben waited a little too long for the young woman to answer him. People were chatting in the background, and he managed to pick up the words "studio" and "take" on the other end of the line before hearing a door slam. Silence then returned, broken only by the sound of Gina's slightly rapid breathing. The assistant had obviously moved somewhere private to continue the conversation, and Ben tightened his grip on his smartphone.

"Where are you?" he asked, suddenly worried. "I'm still at the Whitegrove clinic, and when I contacted the New York office, I was only told that Allan had to go to Europe."

"We are currently in London."

"In London…" repeated Ben in an icy voice.

He had been trying to reach Snoke for two days. In vain. His calls always went to voicemail or got cut off after two rings. And now he understood why.

That dirty bastard …

"And you are there for…" Ben purposely left his sentence unfinished. He was dying to know what lie Gina was going to come up with. Allan must have left instructions.

He heard the young woman swallow before launching into it.

"Mr. Snoke has an appointment with Tallie Lintra. He heard that she's looking to change agents, and he hopes to convince her to sign with him. Since she's in the capital at the moment, they decided to have dinner together earlier. If you could call back later, I'm sure -"

Ben had known Tallie for quite some time. He'd met her six years ago when the cast of the new "Galactic Wars" gathered for their first table read of the screenplay. At that time, the young actress had introduced Lena Atkins, her friend and agent. The two women were very close then, just as they had been while shooting the final movie in the saga. Ben therefore doubted that things had changed since then.

"Gina, stop lying to me." He cut her off, straightening up suddenly on his bed.

The movement had been too abrupt. A sharp pain pierced his kidneys and he suppressed a curse before continuing:

"Snoke doesn't have a dinner date with Tallie."

Poor Gina was a perfect assistant, but this time she was unlucky.

"Galactic Wars" was not just a series of films. It was a social phenomenon beloved by young and old, and the final chapter, released in theaters just before Christmas, was the end of an epic saga spanning forty years. With this latest trilogy, Tallie and he had become stars all over the world, and people loved the couple that his character, Kylo Ren, formed with Kira, the heroine played by the young actress.

Unlike him, she was very active on the internet, and Ben had discovered that several members of the clinic's nursing staff followed her on social media. Just the day before, he had encountered two nurses who were ecstatic over a post by the actress, who was apparently sipping a cocktail on a Polynesian beach. One of them was reading the photo caption out loud as he was going to his PT session. "Back to L.A in a week! In the meantime, I'm enjoying the sun and the sea!"

"I don't understand, I…"

"Tallie's in Bora Bora, Gina. No more games. If you're in London it's for Allan to meet Scott Riley. And I bet Armitage Hux is there too. He's the one who's going to replace me on "Judicial Duel," isn't he?"

What was Snoke thinking? How stupid could he be? With the internet, nothing could remain confidential for very long nowadays, especially in the field of show business. And Ben didn't have much to do with his days other than read and surf the net. The young woman let out a long sigh and gave in.

"Mr. Snoke wanted to talk to you about it. He tried to delay the shooting, but the scheduling of the other actors was so tight, and he couldn't convince Mr. Riley."

"It's fine, I get it " spat Ben before hanging up and throwing his phone violently at the foot of his bed.

He was out. He wanted to scream, to punch the walls.

Damn, I can't believe it …

He absolutely had to get out of this room to get some fresh air. He was suffocating in here. His back injury started acting up again, so he swallowed one of the two pills on his bedside table. Then he got up painfully, grabbed the walker near the bed, and took forever to reach the closet. He could now stand and walk several feet, but rehabilitation was not going nearly fast enough for his taste.

He slowly put on his jeans, T-shirt, and sweater, grimacing. He could have called a nurse to help him, but he didn't want to. He hated depending on people. He hated his condition. And he hated himself right now.

Behind him, he heard his phone vibrate. His lawyer's number appeared on the screen.

The accident had taken place in November, a month before the film was released. He'd been called back to shoot additional scenes because changes to the script had been decided on at the last minute. He just had to do reshoots of a few combat scenes and record several lines of dialogue. He was not necessarily in agreement with the changes made, but as a good professional, he had performed without complaining. But that day, everything had changed. As usual, he'd insisted on doing the stunt himself. He had worked for months to perfect his movements when the cables carried him through the air, mimicking the dizzying jumps his character was supposed to achieve. Except that day, one of the cables had given way.

Today, the case was still ongoing against the company that supplied the defective equipment which had caused Ben to be thrown through a glass panel and into that damn metal pylon.

He ignored Hawkins' message and finished dressing. He then sat down in his chair and had to bring himself to suffer a little more to bend over and tie his sneakers.

It was seven o'clock in the morning. It had been raining all night, and the rays of the sun timidly filtered through the gray clouds. It was cool but he didn't care. There would be no one in the park.

Perfect.

He retrieved his black pea coat from the sofa, avoided passing in front of the mirror near the door, and guided his wheelchair out of the bedroom.

OooooO

Rey parked her car in the nearly deserted parking lot in front of the clinic. Only the vehicles of the guard personnel were present. The majority of doctors usually started consultations around eight o'clock.

The young woman turned off the ignition and remained a few moments with her hands on the steering wheel. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes.

Come on. You'll see everyone again and everything will be fine. Knowing them, they'll have prepared a little party for you, with streamers, confetti, and Poe's amazing vanilla cake. You just have to hang out in the park for a bit and have a look around before everyone else arrives. It's going to be a great day.

She put up the collar of her duffle coat, retrieved her umbrella and bag from the back, and went out onto the alley lined with shrubs which led to the main entrance. But instead of entering the hall, she branched off to the left and found herself in the garden on the west side. There was a small play area for children and, further on, various facilities allowed for rehab sessions to be held outside in the summer, in the shade of tall mimosa trees.

A gust of icy wind came to ruffle her hair. After finally being persuaded by Amilyn to return to her old job at the clinic, she had decided to change her appearance, too. She'd said goodbye to her updos and opted for a shorter and more modern cut.

A new look for a new start.

She freed a few windswept locks from her mouth, put her hood back on her head, and took the path that bypassed the building in which the heated pool was located to reach the large terrace.

The beginning of March had been wet and dreary so far. It hadn't even snowed this year, and Rey thought that the weather was actually going downhill. The trees in the park were still bare, but the grass, which had turned green again, was perfectly maintained by the gardeners. The brisk morning air filled her lungs and she breathed in the scent of the wet earth and the nearby forest with a smile on her face. Dr. Holdo was right. She'd missed this place.

His gaze drifted for a moment towards the tall windows of the south wing. This is where the patients' luxury rooms were located. Her heart sped up a bit and she took another deep breath.

Everything will be alright.

It was then that the rain began to fall. Just a few drops at first, but then a torrent began to fall on the terrace. Rey quickly took refuge under the awning. At the same time she felt her cell phone vibrate in her bag. When she unlocked the screen she saw that she had received a text from Maz. Her grandmother wanted to know if she had arrived.

Rey typed out a quick "Ready to start my work day despite the bad weather!" Then she held the phone out in front of her to take a picture of herself winking while pointing to the inscription "Whitegrove Clinic" on a small sign behind her. She was about to send her selfie when a voice suddenly called out to her.

"Hey you!"

A man in a wheelchair was rolling at full speed up the small path which led to the wooded area of the clinic grounds. Rey wondered what he could possibly be doing out at such an early hour. When he got a little closer, the first thing she noticed was the thin gray tape affixed to the right side of his face. It started from the top of his eyebrow and crossed his cheekbone down to his jaw. The young woman had already had the opportunity to see several of Gwendoline Phasma's patients wear this kind of bandage, which was supposed to promote healing after cosmetic surgery. Despite this, she continued to watch him with large round eyes until he finally came to stop right in front of her.

He was soaked to the bone. His hair was dripping and his ears, a little too large, protruded slightly from his dark locks. Oddly, she found it cute. His dark eyes flashed and the young woman was suddenly absorbed by the intensity of his gaze. She had seen this guy somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where. Especially since her attention was riveted by the stranger's lips. My god ... he really had amazing lips!

"What tabloid do you work for? How did you get through security?" he began to scream suddenly. "I'm warning you! If this photo is published, I'll take you to court, you and the newspaper that hired you!"

The spell was immediately broken. Rey stared at him for a few seconds, unable to respond, and it was then that she finally recognized him. She remembered the image that had been plastered all over the streets of New York for weeks. It was Ben Solo, the actor who played in "Galactic Wars," and Rose's nightmare for the past month.

"I, uh ... sorry?" stammered Rey, a little taken aback by his sudden aggressiveness.

Ben's hand flew out abruptly in an attempt to grab her phone. Even sitting in his chair he had a rather impressive stature, but Rey was able to take a step back and dodge him.

"You have to calm down!"

"I saw you take my picture from the path."

"So as soon as someone uses their phone in front of you, you just assume that they must be taking a picture of you? This is a private clinic with patients, caregivers, and a slew of security guards patrolling the park! And the first thing that comes to mind is that I'm a paparazzo?"

"It's not the first time that journalists have managed to enter the grounds trying to get a scoop."

"Well, I work here."

"Is that so? I've been here for two months and this is the first time I've seen you!"

"I took a break for a while, and I'm just starting back today! And for your information, I just took a selfie!"

Rey displayed the picture on her phone and brandished it under his nose while lowering her hood.

What a moron! She'd thought Rose had exaggerated by telling her that this guy was a jerk, but apparently he really was.

"You see?"

Eyes riveted to the screen, Ben Solo's features relaxed a bit, his jaw working as if to hide his embarrassment. When he looked up, he remained motionless, just staring at her. Again that unfathomable look that seemed to want to devour her whole. Those full, beautiful lips had started to tremble, his hands too - but she didn't think it was from anger. It had to be the cold. The raindrops continued to slide down his dark hair and his pale cheeks to crash into the collar of his coat.

"OK. My mistake," he said brusquely, making a sudden turn in his wheelchair and moving away along the path leading to the entrance, in the pouring rain.

"What? That's it? Hey, wait for me! Oh!"

The young woman opened her umbrella before running to join him. She began walking beside him with a quick step, sheltering them both. He was deliberately speeding up, but she kept pace.

"You could at least do a better job of apologizing!"

"My apologies," he said without conviction, staring at the path in front of him.

They finally arrived at the entrance to the main building and the doors opened to let them pass. The young woman stopped dead on the threshold while Ben Solo continued to head straight for the elevators, leaving a trail of water on the polished floor.

"Hello Mr. Solo! And oh, hello Ms. Kanata!"

The cheerful voice of Charles Threepio, the receptionist, rose from behind the reception counter.

Ben just raised his hand to greet the man before pressing the call button on the wall in front of him.

When the elevator opened, he rushed inside and turned his chair to find himself once again facing the lobby.

Rey was still fuming as he reached for the control panel, never taking his eyes off her. The corner of his lips rose slightly in a small defiant smile just before the doors closed.

"Cretin …" she muttered between clenched teeth, while a strange shiver ran down her spine.