Chills hit me when I realize that this insider had to have been Dominic or Ivy. To link me with them and use me as a tool for publicity when they had never had use for me before. They turned a spotlight on Logan at the same time trying to hurt me by going to the media about my relationship with Kane. I handed them the ammunition from which they so clearly used for personal gain.

I should have seen that coming. Knowing they wouldn’t just let me have the last word and that they wanted to strike back where it would hurt—by throwing me to the wolves and sharks that would do their dirty work for them.

I let the hand holding my phone fall on my lap and let the fact sink in that the family who has never wanted me used me in order to put their name out there. Kane had told me that Dominic would most likely lose Logan soon. I knew for myself that he had been struggling. The competitive market is too great for him to control, and his own riches starting to dwindle to nothing.

Picking up the phone, I reread the last section and smile when I realize they gravely miscalculated. I know they’re trying to hurt me, but because the article doesn’t even mention them past just a fleeting comment, I know their use was over. They were only named to give a little credibility to the source, but if they had planned better, they could have used me to breathe some life back into their dying sails.

It shouldn’t feel as good as it does to know that they will fail in their aim to hurt me. And honestly, now that I’m faced with the reality they tried, I don’t care.

I really don’t care because I meant it when I said that by telling them I forgave them, I would be able to move on and they couldn’t touch me anymore. I feel lighter as I continue to read.

They continue to speculate on the seriousness of Kane’s ‘new relationship,’ but it’s obvious they don’t know much because, besides the grainy pictures of us, there are no real facts.

I return to my search page and thumb through a few more articles. None of the other links giving any more information than the fact Kane has another woman in his life who isn’t Mia Post.

And then I find the fan-driven page full of comments about Kane’s new woman. Not all of them negative, but a great number comparing me to Mia. I skim through the comments and feel sick at the number of them that voice the same fears I had at the beginning of our relationship.

That I’m not worthy of him.

That he can do better.

And more comments than I can count comparing me, my body, and my looks to Mia.

Surprisingly, when I finish, there is no residual pain from seeing them rip into me. The fear that I wouldn’t be strong enough to handle what the public had to say about me, the judgment that I had forever tried to avoid from others, means nothing. For once, I don’t care what others think about me because if I’ve learned anything in the last two months, it’s that the only opinion that matters is my own.

Those chains that had been keeping me from finally letting go of my past and growing into someone stronger snap the instant my phone is lowered to the bed. I know now that no matter what happens next, I’m strong enough to handle it. I might be scarred, and I might come away with burns that will never heal, but if I walk away without fighting for Kane and our love, then I might not ever be able to move on with my life.

I became the change that I had wanted for myself. Two months, four years, a decade ago—I never would have believed this was possible. I would have ran and hidden behind my fears. And even though I long for Kane and the added strength his love gives me, I deserve so much more than what I had been prepared to live with.

I deserve all of him just as I’ve given him all of me.

I lie down, pulling the covers tight against me as a few tears fall from my eyes. Even with the knowledge I’m no longer weak and afraid, I’m still so full of fear that I will lose Kane in the end. Part of me wants to run back to him and tell him that it doesn’t matter, I don’t need the truth as long as I have him, but I know now that I would never be able to live with myself if I didn’t prove to myself that I know I deserve more.

He might not have been completely honest with me because of a promise that he had made to Mia, but if he didn’t tell me because of the child, I’m not sure what that means for us. How can I compete with that? How can I expect him to choose me when this child would need its father?

It’s time to face the fact that no matter how great our love might be it just might not be able to hold up when faced with the very real possibility that Mia might be carrying his child.

“God, what now?”

GODDAMN VULTURES.

Mia called an hour after we hung up to let me know that reporters had swamped my gate. The paparazzi are in full bloodlust over the rumors of my ‘love triangle.’ I had spent enough time looking at the shit on the web to know they were painting Willow as the other woman while Mia was suffering through my infidelity.

What a bunch of bullshit.

Lies I’m at the mercy of because I can’t say shit. A bed I made for myself because I didn’t do anything to ensure that Willow would be prepared for them when the news hit. But even if I had and she was by my side, I would never throw Mia to the wolves by giving life to their scandalous rumors.

My publicist had told me to keep my mouth shut, deny it all and let my little fling just go home. His advice was to use this to keep the fire blazing while he uses the attention to get Impenetrable into as many hands as possible when they started asking questions. Turning my personal hell into his gain.

Needless to say, he was fucking shocked when I fired him right then and there. No one, and I mean no one, will use Willow in a negative way just to pad his pockets. I could give a shit about Impenetrable right now, not when my future is hanging on by a thread while this shit storm boils over and starts to take out everything around me.

“Let’s go, Cam,” I shout through the house and wait for him to come into view.

“Didn’t Kole tell you it might not be a good idea?”

I look over at Cam sharply. “Does it look like I give a shit?”

Cam’s all-knowing glare is the only response that I get.

“I can’t just sit here and not go to her, Cam.” I lean back against the wall that takes us to the garage and drop my head back. “What am I supposed to do? Just bring Mia here and let the press go apeshit that on the heels of Willow’s exit Mia came running to me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

I open my eyes and take a deep pull of air. What I wouldn’t give to get this helpless aggression out. “What should I do then?”

His usually impassive face breaks into an eerie grin; the look in his eyes cool and calculated. “You give her the grand gesture.”

Cocking my head, my brow pulls tight. What the fuck is he on?

“You know, if you spent more time reading those romance books, you would have figured this out before now. You’re a man who is known to avoid those assholes. You never comment when asked to confirm whatever it is that they want. Willow knows that, you’ve told her that, but what you haven’t showed her is that the chance you had her take on you would be worth it because you believe in it enough to finally allow the world to have you without hiding. I get it, Kane. Your whole life is out there for their sick pleasure to feed themselves on every move you make. You deserve to have your own shit, but there is nothing wrong with telling them they’re right about Willow. You can give them that and still keep your privacy. More importantly, you can give her that.”