Have you seen this?
Mama Cell
Call me when you can.
Ethan
We should talk.
My stomach tightened. What had happened?
I opened Dorian’s text first. A link. The page loaded slowly, and, when it did, my blood went cold. It was a photo of me and Lila on her patio—kissing. The porch lights soft around us like ahalo, my hand beneath her chin. A private, intimate moment on our own property, now plastered across a gossip blog.
The headline screamed in all caps:
“DESIGN DIVA IN LOVE TRIANGLE? HOME SHOW HOST CAUGHT BETWEEN CLIENT AND CO-HOST!”
My phone buzzed again. Another link—from my mother. This time, a video.
Lila at the renovation site, clearly distressed. Her hands gesturing wildly, face flushed, tears streaming. The audio was amplified, dramatic music added underneath. Every word she spoke twisted into something hysterical.
“These cabinets were supposed to be cream!” she shrieked—or so it sounded through the manipulated audio.
Then Beau stepped into frame, calm and composed, placing a hand on her shoulder. The split screen showed her tear-streaked face beside his soothing expression. He looked like the rational hero taming the hysterical woman.
The caption read: “Designer’s On-Set Meltdown — Is She Losing Control?”
Behind me, the girls were singing along to the music, oblivious.
And all I could think was: How do I protect them from this?
I stepped into the kitchen, away from the living room, and opened more links. They were everywhere—every gossip site, every social platform.
The comments were brutal:
Wow, she seems unstable.
That poor contractor trying to calm her down.
Love triangle drama AND a diva meltdown? This show is going to be a train wreck.
Feel bad for those kids caught in the middle of this mess.
My hands clenched around the phone. This had Kenzie and Beau’s names all over it. They’d sent someone to take the photosof us, then leaked them. They’d edited the footage to make her look unhinged.
Was this really about ratings—or was there something more?
Regardless, this was going to hurt the girls. Mia would understand; we could explain what was happening. But Margot … she was still fragile. Still so sure that something would happen to ruin her new life.
And what about school? It started soon. This would be fodder for cruel kids.
“Vance?” Mia’s voice pulled me back. “You okay?”
I turned, forcing a smile. “Yeah, sweetheart. Just checking messages.”
“Is Mom coming home soon?”
“Soon,” I said, though I had no idea. She’d probably seen all this too. She was probably devastated. Hopefully she was on her way home to us. We’d figure out what to do—as a family.
