Chapter 3 Instagram Influencer ?

• TALIA
• I was casually strolling through my Instagram feed that Friday evening – that was a habit that I had learned to adopt for a while now.
• I mean, who could blame me? It was not the most usual thing adjusting to all the maddening and unbelievable amount of fame that you could gather to yourself in about three months just because you are married to one of the world's most renowned and respected human beings such as Jayden Cross.
• It was all Olivia's idea for me to open a Social Media account, and Jayden may have been a little bit sceptical at first to the idea, having that he did not understand why I would want a Social Media account – considering that the only one he had himself was of his brand. The man seemed to have grown too fast out of his years to not be able to understand that there were some people who could want to have a social media just for the fun of it, without dragging the seriousness of business into the whole thing. It was a tasky procedure, but after a few do's and dont's and compromises that I was obligated to oblige with, he finally let me have one, and in a nutshell, I had only but a little liberty to it as he had given most of the responsibility of handling my account to his own personal Social Media team.
• It didn't stop me from going through the account once in a while and basking in all the attention and love that I was receiving. My Instagram account amassed about half a million so far in three months, and there were dozens of fan accounts that I had stumbled about. In all honesty, I found it hilarious how people could be so invested with their time, their energy, and their love for another human being for any reason that was – even if it was just because they were simply married to a rich man. But, I mean, it wasn't like I was complaining about it anyway. I was happy for the love and all the attention, maybe even too happy for it, and although it may have seemed narcissistic, I find it hard to believe that there was a human being out there who would not have been even the tiniest bit glad to be opportune to have such a thing. There wasn't anyone, right? That was simply impossible.
• Anyways, it was a Friday evening, and there was nothing much to do. I lived for every free time I had because in all honesty, as a woman who did not particularly secure a job and had her whole life under the wings and wealth of her bastardly rich husband, I was always busy and almost never free. Most of the time that I was here, there was not anything major that I had to do other than show up in important events as Jayden Cross's wife and tag along with him for interviews and other important things that he instructed the team to fill me in as part of my schedule. God knows where the man was anyway, and if he was in this mansion and deliberately trying to cut me some slack, then I guess that was some character development for him.
• So, there I was, in my own personal luxurious bedroom, scrolling through my Instagram feed when my sister, Olivia, called my phone and interrupted it all.
• "Oh, hey, sis!" The girl was practically screaming and squealing on the phone when I picked up and I winced, scared for my sense of hearing immediately her loud, glass-piercing voice slammed into my eardrums.
• Olivia Bailey was the most hyperactive girl I know. Hands down, I had never met anyone as crazy as the girl. Since we were kids, she had always been the extremely social version of me, and I was that low-key sibling who one could have called an introvert. It was ironic that I was about three years older than her, but somehow, while being kids, she was the one that was always pulling me into all sorts and shades of trouble, and she was the one who literally pulled me everywhere, making sure that I followed her to make some friends.
• I hadn't personally seen her in three months.... But hearing her voice gave me the most wholesome feeling.
• "Hey, Liv, how are you?" I asked her over the phone.
• "Oh, I am AH-MAYZING! And I know that you're even twice as good, big sis, am I right? Mr I-got-gazillions-of-money Cross better be spoiling TF out of my sister or these nails I just got done are gonna be coming for him!" Olivia nearly deafened me once more and I only laughed, overwhelmed by such energy that this girl had.
• "I guess I am doing, alright, sis," I told her in between soft chuckles.
• "I mean, obviously," Olivia concurred with vigour, "I have GOOD news though; you're going to freak out when I tell you this one!"
• That went a long way to put a smile on my face and hope in my heart and my interest piqued at whatever it was that Olivia was about to tell me.
• "Tell me, what is it?" I asked her.
• "About 2 fucking million people are streaming my songs on Spotify and I am so excited, sis! I didn't think I would ever get this amount of attention on any of my songs like this; I feel like this is right about the biggest achievement of my whole life and it's all thanks to you, Talia. Thank you so much!" Olivia was literally showering me with appreciation as she told me all about the progress of her music and that broad smile was on my face and would not leave as she went on and on and on, non-stop about it.
• I was so happy for her. One other thing that stood out, asides Olivia's charisma and natural ability to draw people enough to like her so much was her impeccable singing talent. She was singing for as long as I could remember it and all throughout middle school and High school, she was a literal star as everyone knew her for such a wonderful talent. However, when she had started thinking of furthering her career as a musician, things weren't as easy as she thought it was going to be, and for a moment, she told me that she had given up on her dream. I knew that she didn't mean that; she was just speaking from a slate where she was exhausted with trying without getting any tangible results. Olivia just turned 22 when I got married to Jayden and I figured that now that I had amassed such wealth, it would be an opportunity to help her shine again.
• And it worked.
• I convinced Olivia to get back on her feet in one trial and since then, I had been doing everything in my power to make sure that her music career would succeed. I had been sponsoring her content and promoting it as best as my Social Media liberty would let me, and I guess we were making some results. I couldn't be happier for Olivia.
• "That's such great news, Liv. I'm so glad for you; that's everything you've ever wanted, right?" I responded over the phone.
• "Everything and more," She was so happy to tell me, "This is all you, Talia. I don't know how I would have done it without you. You are the best sister in the whole wild world. You and Mr. Jayden Cross! Please tell him I think he's the best too! This is the best news I have heard in a LONG time, and you had to see how happy Mum was when I told her--"
• The random mention of my mother in the middle of her non-stop appreciation made my heart to skip a beat.
• "How is she?" I asked Olivia, "How is Mum doing?"
• "She's been smiling a lot more and it is all thanks to you," Olivia told me, and that put a bigger smile on my face. "We've been receiving all the money you have sent these past few months and life has been so much easier for the both of us. Can you believe that we now eat about three times a day? Sometimes, Mum and I treat ourselves to a fancy dinner and that is something that we NEVER got to do before you got married to Jayden Cross! Life is so much easier and so much better, and Mum's health is picking up, and again, that is all thanks to you and all the millions that you have been pushing into her treatment since the past few months. Thank you so much, Talia. You're such a blessing to the family!"
• There was so much joy in me hearing Olivia tell me all about how well she and Mum were doing, thanks to everything that I have been doing to make sure of it. I was so happy that they were so happy and making the most of life because of me. I had to wipe off a teardrop that had started to come down my face as I became overwhelmed with so many emotions. We needed this breakthrough. All three of us had gone through so much before I got married to Jayden Cross.
• "I'm so happy to hear that, Liv. You don't know how happy that makes me," I said to her over the phone and tried not to make it obvious that I was crying.
• "We are so happy too, and it's all thanks to you. We can't thank you enough!" Olivia told me.
• She spent almost half an hour, telling me how much of an amazing sister I was, telling me how much she loved me, and showering me with praises and thanks that would not stop rolling, and talking about how immensely happy she was that I had found love in a man like Jayden Cross who had basically changed their whole life.
• As happy as I was for such an improvement, I couldn't help but think about how much of a lie my relationship with Jayden Cross. So many people, including Olivia, genuinely thought that I was actually in love with this man and in reality, our entire relationship was all a scam – it was all a game. It was literally business. He profited from me and I profited from him.
• But I mean it was worth it, right? I got love and attention, as well as immense fame. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to provide for my family, support Olivia's music career, and ensure Mum's payment at the hospital. What did I have to lose? Absolutely nothing.
• I only wondered why I needed so much assurance that my life was irrevocably perfect.