“Hey.” Someone nudges my shoulder.
“Ugh. Let me sleep.” I grab a pillow and cover my head to drown out Declan’s voice.
“There’s something outside you’re going to want to see.”
“Shh.” I tug the blanket I was snuggled into over my head.
Wait. A blanket? I don’t remember falling asleep, let alone having the energy to grab a blanket.
“This might be your one and only chance to see a leopard, so if I were you, I’d get up. Now.”
“What?” I bolt upright on the couch. The muted TV still plays in the background. Somehow I ended up sprawled out on the couch, taking over my side and the place where Declan sat before.
Huh. Strange.
“Follow me.” He leaves me running after him as he exits the living room.
The only source of light we have is the moon shining through the windows. Declan weaves through the house before taking me toward his bedroom.
“This better not be some ploy to get me into your room.”
Despite the low light, I can make out the glare he sends my way over his shoulder.
“I’m joking.”
“Good because I have no interest in doing such a thing.”
Well, then. He doesn’t need to sound so against the idea.
“Then why are we here?”
“I was in the middle of taking a shower when I noticed something outside.” He walks straight into his dark bathroom.
I’m so focused on his story that I slip on a massive puddle. I slide straight into Declan’s back, and he lets out an oomph. He struggles to maintain his balance, but his quick reflexes save us both from taking a tumble, although my chest takes a beating after running into pure muscle.
“Why is there so much water on the floor?” I catch the reflection of a trail leading from Declan’s shower to the door.
“I was in a rush.”
He bolted from the shower for me? I don’t even know what to make of that knowledge except to concentrate on my breathing so I don’t pass out from pure shock.
He doesn’t give me a chance to harp on the details of him running out of the shower to come get me. His hand motions me forward, and I grab onto his extended palm. He helps me into the empty porcelain tub that is set up in front of a big window that faces a small river to the side of our bungalow.
“Look over there.” He points into the darkness.
“What am I looking for?”
“You don’t see it?” He frowns and leans forward.
I laugh. “It’s pitch black.”
He squints and points. “Right there. Between the two trees in front of the river.”
I try to see what he is looking at and fail. “Nope.”
He leans in closer so he can use my hand as an arrow. “Right there.”
“Oh my God.” I blink again to make sure I’m not seeing some apparition. “It’s a leopard!”
“Shh.”
Who would have thought we would find one outside our bungalow of all places? We’ve been on countless safaris and come up empty every single time.
“How did you even see it? It’s so dark outside.”
“It set off the motion-censored spotlight. I thought it would run away before I had a chance to come get you, but it seemed more curious than anything. Probably it was thirsty enough to stick around.”
“Or hungry enough.” I shudder at the thought. Declan and I have found multiple animals all looming around the river, taking their fill of water. I’m sure some even sleep by it.
I don’t know how much time passes, but Declan and I sit together in an empty tub watching the leopard as it prowls around the area. It feels like hours pass us by as the moon slowly begins its descent.
“Did it meet your expectations?” he asks as the leopard disappears back into the bush.
“Yes!” I turn and throw my arms around him. “Thank you for remembering.”
His stiff arms eventually return the gesture, and I hold him even tighter against me. Neither one of us speaks. With the way my chest warms in his proximity, I’m tempted to stick around longer.
He clears his throat. “We should get to sleep. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.”
My whole face feels like it could catch on fire. “Right. Of course.” I disentangle myself from his grasp and jump out of the tub.
Declan stands and follows after me out of his bathroom. I’m careful not to slip on any more puddles, although it seems like enough time went by for them to evaporate.
“Thanks again. For all this.”
He says nothing, but the satisfied look on his face speaks volumes. I escape his room and crawl into bed with the biggest smile on my face.
All thanks to Declan.
I drop my empty luggage by the foot of the bed so I can answer my ringing phone.
“Please tell me you’re not pregnant.”
“I’m sorry? Did you just ask if I’m pregnant?” I slam a fist to my chest twice to help me breathe.
“Yes.”
“Why?!” I double-check my period tracker app despite the fact that I haven’t had sex in months.
“You don’t know.” Mom’s voice cracks.
My knees shake, so I take a seat on the edge of the mattress. “What happened?”
“There are…stories coming out about you.”
“Me?”
“And Declan.”
My stomach drops. “Send them to me.”
She makes a noise. “I think it’s better if you don’t see them.”
Shit. Acid crawls up my throat as I ignore my mother and type my name into the search engine with shaky fingers. The results are horrifying. Each headline somehow seems worse than the last. Buzzwords like fake marriage, baby clause, and gold digger. News articles I can handle, but it’s the comment sections that really sting. After the first one claims I don’t deserve children because of the mockery I made out of marriage, I exit the internet application. If that’s the first one, I can’t imagine how awful the rest are.
My social media profiles are no better, with all of them being clogged with people sending me direct messages. Even a few direct threats.
My stomach churns. “None of this is true.”
Except, isn’t it?
I mute my phone and proceed to scream into the mattress.
Mom remains unaware of my breakdown. “Obviously not. I’ve seen the way you two interact. These soulless people are just looking to ruin anyone so they can sell a few copies.”
I have no idea what my mom thinks she saw but I refuse to argue with her. There are way bigger fish to fry.
“What am I supposed to do?” My voice shakes.
“My poor baby.” Mom’s voice cracks. “I hate that they’re saying these things about you. Them calling you a money-hungry…” Her voice drifts off, as if it pains her to finish that sentence.
Don’t worry, Mom. It hurts me just as much. The amount of women who wrote nasty comments on my social media posts is nothing compared to the ones who privately messaged me their thoughts. I set my accounts to private, but the stain of their words still lingers.
I’m so close to cracking with each shuddery breath I take.
“Don’t let these people get to you.” Mom’s voice stands firm, and it helps ease the smallest fraction of tension from my shoulders.
“It’s a little too late for that,” I grumble.
“They’re nothing but rumors.”
“Except everyone is talking about my marriage, including freaking Finance Today.” I know I’ve officially hit rock bottom when the spreadsheet nerds are out to get me.
“They can say anything they want, but that doesn’t make any of it true.”
Oh, Mom. If only you knew. “But—”
“No buts. These reporters will come up with any kind of story to sell some papers. It’s disgusting that they would come after your marriage like this, but I’m not surprised.”
Me neither when I come to think of it. The timing is almost too perfect, with Declan and me being unable to do anything about it from here.
With each article I read, my anger intensifies. I know exactly who released these stories into the world, hoping for this kind of reaction. Seth Kane is lucky I’m thousands of miles away from him or else I would give him a piece of my mind.
Or fist.
I don’t think anyone could read comments like that about themselves and not feel some kind of emotion toward it. But despite my feelings, I know who I am and what I stand for. Nothing anyone says will change my mind, but it doesn’t mean their words still can’t affect me.
Unlike Declan, I didn’t grow up in this kind of world. I’m not accustomed to having my image plastered all over every celebrity gossip site, picking at everything that makes me who I am. It makes me want to hide away from everyone and everything, but it also makes me want to fight.
“I’m going to fix this.” I hold my chin up.
“How?”
I won’t allow logistics to kill my motivation. “I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Oh, baby. You can’t change people’s narratives. They are going to think what they want based on the facts they’re presented with, and nothing you do will change that.”
Mom’s words cause a lightbulb to shine above my head—as if it was blessed by God himself.
What if I create a story so enticing, they can’t help but want to change their view? I can control how people perceive us. It might take a bit of work on my end, but it has to be better than the alternative. Because if stories like this continue to pile up, Brady Kane’s lawyer will most likely start questioning the authenticity of everything.
No. There is no way I will allow that to happen. I didn’t go through all the trouble of marrying Declan so his father could ruin everything anyway. Seth Kane might have won this round, but he has a whole other thing coming if he thinks I’ll let a few news headlines hold me back. While his sons have to remain diplomatic around him for the sake of investors and board members, I have no issues getting dirty.
He put a target on his back, and I can’t wait to pull the trigger.
