Nicola Marsh - What the Paparazzi Didn't See

She waited for the party peeps and hangers-on to flock, steeled her nerve to face the inevitable inquisition: who was she dating, where was she holidaying, when would she grant the tell-all the publishers had been hounding her for?

Her answer to the last question hadn’t changed in twelve months: ‘When hell freezes over.’

It had been a year since international soccer sensation Henri Jaillet had dumped her in spectacular orchestrated fashion, three years since basketball superstar Jimmy Ro had broken her heart.

Reportedly.

The truth? She’d known Jimmy since high school and they were the quintessential golden couple: king and queen of the graduation dance who morphed into media darlings once he hit the big time.

He’d launched her as a WAG and she’d lapped it up, happy to accept endorsements of clothes, shoes and jewellery.

For Cindy. Always for Cindy.

Everything she did was for her baby sister, which was why a tell-all was not on the cards.

She’d grown apart from Jimmy and when reports of his philandering continued to dog her, she’d quit the relationship when he wanted out.

The media had a field day, making her out to be a saint, a very patient saint, and the jobs had flooded in. From modelling gigs to hosting charity events, she became Melbourne’s latest ‘it’ girl.

And when her star had waned, she’d agreed to be Henri’s date for a specified time in exchange for a cash sum that had paid Cindy’s carer bills for a year.

Being tagged a serial WAG had stung, as people who didn’t know her labelled her money-hungry and a camera whore.

She tried not to care, though.

The only people that mattered—her and Cindy—knew the truth.

And it would stay that way, despite the ludicrous sums of money being dangled in front of her for a juicy tell-all.

Yeah, real juicy. Readers would be distinctly disappointed to learn of her penchant for flannel PJs, hot chocolate and a tatty patchwork quilt.

As opposed to the rumoured lack of sleepwear, martinis before bed and thousand-thread sheets she slept on.

She had no idea why the paparazzi made up stuff like that, but people lapped it up, and judged her because of it.

What would they think if they knew the truth?

That she loved spending a Saturday night curled up on the couch with Cindy under the old patchwork quilt their mum had made—and one of the few things Louisa had left behind when she’d abandoned them—watching the teen flicks her sister adored?

That she’d prefer to spend time with her disabled sister than any of the able-bodied men she’d dated?

That every word and every smile at events like this were part of a carefully constructed, elaborate mask to ensure her popularity and continued work that would set up Cindy’s care for life?

Being a WAG meant she could spend most of her time caring for Cindy; a part-time gig as opposed to a full-time job that would’ve taken her away from her sister.

It had suited their lifestyle, putting in infrequent appearances at galas or launches or openings in exchange for days spent attending Cindy’s physiotherapy and occupational therapy sessions, ensuring the spasticity in Cindy’s contracted muscles didn’t debilitate her limited mobility completely.

She’d sat through Cindy’s Botox injections into specific muscles to ease the pain and stiffness and deformity around joints, followed by extensive splinting to maintain movement.

She’d supported Cindy through intrathecal baclofen therapy, where a pump had been inserted into her sister’s abdomen to deliver doses of baclofen—a muscle relaxer—into her spinal fluid to ease the spasticity and relieve muscle spasms in her legs.

She’d been there for every session of speech therapy, muscle lengthening and strengthening, splinting, orthotics, mobility training and activities of daily living management.

Putting on a façade for the cameras might have been a pain in the butt but it had been a small price to pay for the time she’d been able to spend supporting Cindy every step of the way. The financial security? An added bonus.

Cindy’s care hadn’t come cheap and if a magazine wanted to pay her to put in an appearance at some B-list function, who was she to knock it back?

She almost had enough money saved... After tonight she could hang up her sparkly stilettos and leave her WAG reputation behind. Start working at something worthwhile. Something in promotions maybe? Put her marketing degree to use.

Cindy had progressed amazingly well over the years and Liza could now pursue full-time work in the knowledge she’d put in the hard yards with her sister’s therapy when it counted.

Cerebral palsy might be an incurable lifelong condition but, with Cindy’s determination, her amazing sis had reached a stage in her management plan where the spasticity affecting the left side of her body was under control and she maintained a certain amount of independence.

Liza couldn’t be prouder and could now spend more hours away from Cindy pursuing some of her own goals.

Though she wondered how many interviews ‘serial WAG’ would garner from her sketchy CV.

A local TV host laid a hand on her arm and she faked a smile, gushing over his recent award win, inwardly counting down the minutes until she could escape.

Think of the appearance money, she mentally recited, while nodding and agreeing in all the right places.

Another thirty minutes and she could leave her old life behind.

She could hardly wait.

* * *

Wade Urquart couldn’t take his eyes off the dazzling blonde.

She stood in the middle of the room, her shimmery bronze dress reflecting light onto the rapt faces of the guys crowding her.

With every fake smile she bestowed upon her subjects, he gritted his teeth.

She was exactly the type of woman he despised.

Too harsh? Try the type of woman he didn’t trust.

The same type of woman as Babs, his stepmother. Who at this very minute was doing the rounds of the room, doing what she did best: schmoozing.

Quentin had been dead less than six months and Babs had ditched the black for dazzling emerald. Guess he should respect her for not pretending. As she had for every moment of her ten-year marriage to his father.

A marriage that had driven the family business into the ground. And an irreversible wedge between him and his dad. A wedge that had resulted in the truth being kept from him on all fronts, both personally and professionally.

He’d never forgive her for it.

Though deep down he knew who should shoulder the blame for the estrangement with his dad. And he looked at that guy every morning in the mirror.

He needed to make amends, needed to ease the guilt that wouldn’t quit. Ensuring his dad’s business didn’t go bankrupt would be a step in the right direction.

Qu Publishing currently stood on the brink of disaster and it was up to him to save it. One book at a time.

If he could ever get a meeting with that WAG every publishing house in Melbourne was clamouring to sign up to a tell-all biography, he might have a chance. Her name escaped him and, having been overseas for the best part of a decade, he had no idea what this woman even looked like, but he could imagine that every one of her assets would be fake. However, it seemed Australia couldn’t get enough of their home-grown darling. He’d been assured by his team that a book by this woman would be a guaranteed best-seller—just what the business needed.

But the woman wouldn’t return his assistant’s international calls and emails. Not that it mattered. He knew her type. Now he’d landed in Melbourne he’d take over the pursuit, demand a face-to-face meeting, up the ante and she’d be begging to sign on the dotted line.

At times like this he wished his father had moved with the times and published children’s fiction. Would’ve made Wade’s life a lot easier, signing the next J.K. Rowling.