I inhale sharply.
“She’s already agreed to put out a statement,” he continues. “And she’s contacting everyone she sent the story to, asking them to retract it.”
My mouth falls open. “She agreed to that?”
Miles nods. “She didn’t really have a choice.”
I sit there, stunned, barely able to process as he keeps going.
“Penny didn’t stop there. She submitted cease-and-desist letters to every influencer, gossip page, and news station even considering picking up the story. We can’t legally stop people from talking, but usually the threat of lawyers and financial ruin makes them realize that an old scandal isn’t worth the clicks.”
He brushes my knuckles with his thumb. “Plus, Penny’s got long-standing relationships with most of the big media outlets. She’s helped them out a ton over the years. As a favor to her, they’ve already removed most of the videos—took them down for ‘violating community guidelines’.” He air quotes.
I swallow hard, emotion pressing into my throat.
“It’s not perfect,” he admits. “Maybe it won’t eraseeverythingforever, but it’ll make it so unbelievably unpleasant for anyone who wants to run with this story that they’ll back off.”
“How?” I whisper.
“Simple,” he says. “If any of those stations want firsthand access to our team or our players, they won’t touch this. Penny made it clear… run this old, irrelevant story, and the organization will cut them off completely. No interviews. No exclusives. Nothing. At the end of the day,” Miles says softly, “everyone’s out for themselves. A twelve-year-old story that went nowhere? It’s not worth risking their credibility or their relationship with the organization. Besides the couple of bucks they’d make off clicks, they gain nothing from it.”
I stare at him—really stare at him—trying to grasp the reality that he’s sitting here telling me the nightmare I’ve been living with for half my life might actually be fading. He did this all for me.
“I’m still in shock,” I whisper. “I’ve been hiding from this for twelve years, and you and Penny have it figured out in a day?”
He lifts a shoulder modestly. “Well, it was mainly Penny, to be fair. We should probably bake her some cookies or something to thank her.”
I raise a brow. “Or buy her some cookies.”
He lets out a soft laugh. “Fair point.”
I shake my head, overwhelmed. “Sorry. I know I should be really happy, but… it just doesn’t seem real.”
He squeezes my hand. “Trust me—it’s real.”
My throat tightens. The question rises before I can stop it, raw and terrified. “And what about us?”
His expression shifts immediately, concern softening his features. “What about us?”
“Are we still…?”
“Together?” he finishes gently. “Of course, we’re still together. Why wouldn’t we be?”
I swallow hard. “Well, doesn’t the recent information… change how you see me?”
“Not in the negative,” he says firmly. “If anything, I love you more for everything you’ve survived and everything you’ve overcome. You are an incredibly strong person, Miranda, and I’m proud—so damn proud—to be dating you.”
Tears sting my eyes. “But you always call me Sunshine… like I’m light and happy and bubbly. And the truth is… part of that is a mask. A way to hide everything I never wanted you to find out. Everything I never wanted the world to find out. Am I even the person you thought you loved?”
“Of course you are.”
His voice is steady, unwavering, full of truth.
“You’re still all those things,” he continues. “But now? Now you get to be yourwholeself. Sunshine isn’t what you are on the outside. You’re my Sunshine because you’re my light. You make my world brighter. You make me see things clearly. You bring a spotlight to the love I feel for you.”
He lifts my chin until my gaze meets his.
“I love all the parts of you,” he says softly. “The happy ones and the dark ones. The past doesn’t change how I feel about you.Nothing could. Someday, I hope you believe that. I hope you trust it with your whole heart.”
