You had only planned for a simple day out—just you, a little shopping, maybe a coffee, nothing extravagant. But ever since your relationship with Drew became public, nothing was simple anymore.

At first, it was fine. You wandered through the city, slipping in and out of boutiques, enjoying the rare alone time. But then—

It started small. A couple of stares. Some whispers. Then, a girl hesitantly approached you outside a store.

“Hey! Sorry to bother you, but… you’re Drew’s girlfriend, right?”

You smiled politely. “Yeah, that’s me.”

And that was all it took.

Within minutes, more people approached. Some asked for pictures, others just wanted to talk. Then a group of teenage girls recognized you and sprinted across the street, giggling and squealing. More and more people noticed, until suddenly you were standing in the middle of a small crowd, trying to keep up with the flood of questions and phones shoved in your face.

You were friendly—of course you were. You appreciated their kindness, really. But being alone in the middle of all this? It was overwhelming.

By the time you finally made it home, you were exhausted. Dropping your bags by the door, you barely had time to breathe before Drew appeared from the living room, his phone in hand, brows furrowed.

“Are you okay?” He asked immediately, walking toward you. “What happened?”

You blinked. “What?”

“I saw a video,” he said, showing you the screen. Sure enough, there it was—clips of you swarmed by people, looking overwhelmed. Comments flooded in, speculating about how you must have felt.

You sighed, rubbing your temples. “It was fine. Just a lot.”

Drew didn’t look convinced. His jaw tightened, and he crossed his arms. “I don’t like that you were alone.”

“Drew—”

“You need a bodyguard.”

You groaned. “No, I don’t.”

“Yes, you do,” he argued, stepping closer. “You were literally stuck in a crowd of people. What if someone grabbed you? What if someone wasn’t nice?”