And when we’re both spent, he gathers me into his arms and pulls me tight against his chest. I snuggle into him, my cheek resting against the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. It feels like I’ve finally come home.
“I’ll never let you go again,” he whispers against my hair, pressing a soft kiss there. I smile, my heart full, and let myself drift off to sleep in his arms.
Later, the shrill ring of my phone drags me out of sleep. Groaning, I reach across the nightstand, my eyes squinting against the early light.
Annoyance prickles instantly when I see Sabrina’s name flash across the screen. I know exactly why she’s calling. She’s persistent as hell. She won’t let go until she gets the article.
Grabbing the phone, I roll over, ready to bury my face in the pillow, but freeze when I find the bed empty. My stomach drops, though the ringing doesn’t stop.
I swallow hard, forcing myself to answer the call. “Sabrina?”
Her bright, triumphant tone fills my ear. “Anna! We got the article. It was exactly what I needed.”
Confusion floods through me as I sit up and clutch the blanket to my chest.
“Article? What article?”
“The piece on Landon and his parents, of course.”
My heart slams against my ribs. “What do you mean?”
A chime follows, and I glance down to see a screenshot from her. I open it, and my breath catches, the headline glaring back at me in bold letters.
The Dark Legacy Behind the Hayes Empire.
And beneath it is everything Landon told me last night, every secret he bared to me in his most vulnerable moment.
My blood runs cold. “Sabrina, no. Don’t print this.”
“It’s already in motion, Anna,” she cuts in, excited, unbothered by my panic. “This is the piece that’s going to put us on the map. I have to run, but we’ll talk soon.”
And then the line goes dead.
I stare at the phone in horror, my chest caving in.How? How could this happen? Who did this?I never even breathed a word of it to anyone. So how did this get out? And worse, what will Landon’s reaction be when he finds out?
I’m about to leap out of bed to find Landon when the door opens.
He smiles at me, carrying a tray in his hands. My heart picks up as he walks toward me.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” he says softly, sitting next to me and setting the tray down. “I wanted to wake you with breakfast.”
My lips part, the confession already ready to escape my lips. I need to tell him before he hears it from someone else. “Landon, I have to tell you something—”
But before I can finish, his phone buzzes in his pocket.
He frowns and pulls it out. “Give me a minute, sweetheart.”
His brows furrow as he listens to the person on the other end. Then his eyes lift and lock onto me with a look that fills me with dread as he ends the call.
“The press…” His voice is tight, strained. “They printed about my parents.”
“Landon—” My voice cracks. “Please, let me explain—”
“Not right now.” He shakes his head and rises to his feet, already turning toward the door. “I need to go.”
And just like that, he walks out, leaving me frozen in place.
I press a hand to my chest as tears sting my eyes. Inside, my heart screams… I didn’t do this. I would never do this.
