AN: I'm slowing down on writing for this fic right now but still plan to update but fortunately finding something to write for has brought me momentum on writing for other fics as well so I still hope to update this one a lot more before I run out of energy. I keep reading the nice reviews people have left on earlier chapters so thank you for those.
Also, I want to let the reader imagine the damage to Will's face. I have my own idea but I think it's better to let each reader decide for themselves
Chapter Five
5.1
Max took some deep breaths to prepare himself before knocking on the door of Will's room and then entering it. As he saw the man sleeping and took in the damage done to his face, he stared at the ground. As much as he had already prepared himself, he needed to double it. Despite the extent of the damage, this was still his best mate. He'd hate to be in his position but if Anna couldn't break through to him, he'd have to do it.
He sat down beside the bed, his eyes going over the injuries. He leaned forwards being thankful that no one else had accompanied him here. Yeah, Bella would be okay but their friend group sometimes were brutally honest to a fault or they said things without thinking. This situation required care and thought and patience and…yes…maybe Bella would be better but he'd have to do in her place.
After about ten minutes, Max sensed Will waking up and leaned forwards on the chair he was using. He could see Will waking up and just imagined the incredible pain he was in. Still, he had been sent here with a duty and he wasn't going to have Will lose who he was because of something no one would have planned. Bella had fought through her accident and he'd just have to be a support system once again.
"Wh-what the he-hell are you doing here?" Will asked as his eyes went to Max who sighed
"We were told, well, when I say we I mean just Bella and myself. Anna came to see us, said you were being a right arse," he said and Will looked at him again. "We're the only two who know and I think you should be thankful that we do know."
Will sneered at that and turned to look away from him.
"You really are a twat," Max said as he looked at Will, knowing that he was being harsh but maybe that's what was needed.
"Excuse me," Will asked as he looked at his friend and Max took another deep breath in. It was easy to pity Will and feel sorry for him due to how drastic this change in his appearance was but he needed to at least make him appreciate what was important. "What?"
"Come on, it's not as if you're the bloody elephant man. You're being a daft wanker," Max said as Will slowly got himself seated. "Yes. I see how you look but you are being completely blind to how lucky you are and what good things you have in your life. Just imagine if all of this had happened to you before you somehow were lucky enough to have one of the world's most talented, successful, and gorgeous women agree to marry you. She came to us crying due to how important you are to her and her fear of losing you and you repay her by allowing that to be seen as normal."
"She shouldn't….she shouldn't have done that," Will replied quickly and Max looked at him.
"That's your reaction to that? Obviously you think you're too good for her. I wish I had that luxury." Max said and Will stared at him, his disbelief on what was actually being said growing.
"At no time did I say I…I mean….look at her and then…then look at this," he gestured to his face.
"Both you and I know that is an absolute crap excuse," he said as he tried to steady himself. "You don't even know how you're going to look after surgeries and there are a lot of restorative treatments and it may be a year, a couple or years, longer before they're done helping you and you know what you look like."
"This is what I look like," Will struggled and Max raised an eyebrow challenging him.
"Let me ask you this. If it were Bella instead of Anna. Would you be doing so much to pushing her away?" Max challenged him and saw Will's expression get a little more guilt to it. "You'd try to make things work with her? Well you're an absolute imbecile, aren't you."
"That's -" Will said and Max turned his chair to face him directly. "I'm thinking of her career."
"You know, there's a lot less acting opportunities for women in their fifties, sixties, most actresses will retire from the industry before too long and those who don't are fighting over roles but I bet they want to think about the people they knew, the friends they made, the people who they love. You don't appreciate how lucky you are that you met and fell in love with and married Anna Scott."
Max stared at his friend. He had to admit that the more time he spent there, the most acceptance and comfort he was feeling in relation to his friend's beaten appearance.
"I…there are things that…." Will closed his eyes. "I don't feel comfortable with. I don't want to draw the public's attention to me. I should at least have the right to feel that way. I just don't know if this is worth it to Anna, if this ends up -"
"Just do us both a favor and don't worry about her career. You wouldn't worry about hers. If she had been hurt in an accident would you leave her?" Max asked and Will froze and bowed his head. "Okay. I have to call her because I promised that I would after talking to you unless, you want to talk to her," he said and Will nodded silently. "Promise me you won't say anything cruel, okay?"
"I promise, yeah, yeah, I promise," Will nodded before doing a double check of the time to make sure that it was an acceptable time to call and dialed .There was a chance she would be filming and he would just have to hang up or leave a voice message but most likely just hang up.
5.2
Ana stared at the next outfit she would have to wear and she would have to start putting it on in just under an hour. A wedding dress. She would also have someone else put a ring on her finger. She bowed her head as she remembered how happy she had been to see William at the altar waiting for her. He was his charming, slightly clumsy, somewhat awkward self but it was his genuine character she adored about him. Yes, he was interesting and intelligent and attractive and he understood her but somehow with him, she felt it was like two puzzle pieces absolutely matching.
She had realized that being loved and loving in return with that one special person was so much more important than knowing millions of people adored her. But fate would have pulled him away from her and she just wanted to break everything down. Did he really not see how important he was to her? Anna heard her phone ring and picked it up. She opened her mouth and her breath faltered slightly as she saw Max's name.
"Max? It's Anna, I -"
"It's…it's not, Max…as unfortunate as that…that is."
Anna felt her eyes fill with tears as she finally heard his voice. Yes, it was a bit different due to the injuries but he had that humor still. "Hey, Flo-Flopsy," she said as she sat down on the chair.
"I hope this is-n't a bad time to call," he said sounding so distant from her and as if he were putting up all these walls between them.
"Honey, no, no it's, it's always good to hear your voice," she said before trying hard to not cry. She would have to go into makeup for the next few scenes anyway but she truly didn't want to explain to them why she was so emotional. "Are you okay? Did something happen? I'm just about to do a few more scenes and I finish late tonight but I'm sure that I can ask for….for some kind of exception."
"No," William said quickly. "Don't….don't dp that. I just….wanted to see if I could…could apologize for my recent behavior. I should not have an excuse for treating you so coldly and badly and I really do need you to know that…that I love you."
"I love you too," Anna whispered as she held the phone closer. She closed her eyes. This was so different from when she was in the hospital room. This felt as if she wasn't losing him. Was it because he knew that she couldn't see him? Would that change if she were to be looking at him. "I'll try to book the next flight to -"
"The doctors say that I'll be fit for outpatient treatment at the end of the week. Perhaps it would be a good time to discuss…how to proceed." Anna felt her breath catch in her throat as her body turned cold and pale. No. No. There was absolutely no way she would be okay doing a wedding scene if William told her he wanted a divorce. "Anna. More than anything I want to come back and to be a father and a husband. However, we both know that the way I look might have…it might affect your career and so as truly ugly as it is for me to do this, I'll leave the decision to you."
"I want my happiness," Anna said with a smile. "I want you. I want the violin playing goat. Everything else, forget all of it, it could all go away in an instant without reason but you, I would always hate myself if I didn't fight for the three of us to be a family and if anyone dare insult you, I'll kick their damn ass."
"I do love you. I apologize for how badly I've been behaving and should I expect to see you here this weekend?" William asked and Anna smiled.
"I'll see you this weekend," she said, "and yes. I love you. Always. I have to go but thank you and thank Max for me. Call me if you need to talk or if something happens. I left a phone in the bag. Take care," she laughed a little, "my own prince William."
5.3
Anna cringed as she stayed on the phone with John, her PR agent. She knew that there would be some leak at some point but she had hoped that it would at least be after Will had adjusted and definitely after he had left the hospital. It had been that a nurse at the hospital had sent the tabloids copies of the very confidential image of Will's face. She was starting to truly hate people for putting their own greed in front of sympathy and compassion.
"Normally," John said in a pained manner. "I would say that it would be important for you to distract people from your involvement with this. Do some talk shows or press conferences, divert the narrative. However, it is tricky since he is still your husband….unless…"
"He is still my husband," Anna said in an assertive manner before taking a deep breath in. "There's no chance of them holding the story until Monday so that I can at least prepare William for what's going to happen. If he's aware of the situation. Maybe if I'm there so that I can prevent him from having to answer any of the questions he'll be asked."
"I know that you hate to hear it but this is what comes from marrying people who only have experience with the press by association. Maybe the ideal thing would be for you to take a step away from the situation. You might think that you're help-" John said but Anna coughed.
"This weekend I will be with my husband. Any advice on leaving him or anything of that nature, I don't want to hear it. I am with my husband. I love him." Anna said firmly. Taking a deep breath in, she sat down on the sofa in the hotel room. Maybe if she worked things through with the director she would be able to make this easier for her family. She was the reason he was being dragged out like this. If it wasn't for her this would not be the big deal it was leading to.
After finishing the call, Ana froze as she turned towards the computer. She had a terrible sinking feeling in her stomach and she just wanted to prove to herself that it wasn't really happening. AOL seemed to have the answers these days. As she turned it on and went to the home page, her eyes widened as she saw the exposed photographs being shown and took deep breaths as she clicked on one of the pages and saw a picture of William and her at their wedding on one side of the image and the image from the hospital on the other side.
This was her doing, her tempting fate by choosing someone who wasn't affected by a high social class, someone who wasn't' famous and wasn't moved completely by the need to get famous. She had brought this as part of her baggage. He was never supposed to get affected by it. All she could do was try to be there for him as soon as possible but at least he had Max with him right now.
She had only wanted to protect him. He was like a new fawn, cute and stumbling and still wide eyed to this world. He didn't need to belong in it, he just needed to support her. At least before there weren't people willing to actively cast him out of it.
End of Chapter Five
Thank you for reading
