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They didn’t deserve my girl. They took her for granted, used and abused her kindness and trust. When she finally freed herself, they came sniffing around to save their own asses, selfish, greedy, and superficial. I couldn’t imagine how my Angel came from people like them.

Kyle had been doing his best to pressure the Wrights financially, using shady but legal methods. He was also going out of his way to play the jilted fiancé, giving weepy interviews about the “postponed” wedding.

“Lilah is the love of my life, and I’ll wait however long she needs. Time I have, but another soulmate? That’s not something that happens more than once in a lifetime.”

“Jesus. Do people really buy this shit?” Bash commented as Keys played the footage for us.

“Has Lilah seen this?” Bull asked, looking concerned.

“Yeah. She tried to brush it off, but I could tell it’s bothering her. She locked herself in the studio after. I didn’t want to press.”

“So is this just an ego thing? Keys has records of him with a dozen chicks since Lilah left, so that whole wounded-bird act doesn’t really hold water. What is he trying to get out of this? He’s already proven he has the upper hand on her family with or without her…” Bash asked, looking around to see if any of us had a clear answer.

“Pride, narcissism. Take your pick. Either way, I don’t like it. She walked away, didn’t ask shit of these people, and they still get to go around talking shit about her,” I complained, feeling impotent.

If I had it my way, I’d just have killed the fucker. But I wasn’t gonna risk anything that would keep me away from Lilah, and there were far too many ties between Kyle and me at the moment.

“Question. What exactly is stopping Lilah from responding? Or even suing? Maybe it’s worth bringing Charlie in. Isn’t this defamation of character?” Keys asked. I frowned, not really having an answer for that.

“Would Lilah do an interview?” Bash asked next, and I froze.

“I have no idea…Why? What are you thinking?”

“Like you said, Lilah left. She hasn’t done a single thing to them. What does she have to lose by responding? What are they going to threaten her with, that they haven’t already done? If this is about pride and status, then hit him where it hurts. Not to mention, it might be good for her, to get her side of the story out there. Let other women know that they can leave and start over too…” Bash said, his voice trailing off at the end as we all stared at him. He put his hands in the air, acting defensive.

“Don’t look at me like that. Just…ask her. From where I’m standing, she’s got nothing to hide and nothing to lose. We all have her back, and at the very least, let’s loop Chuckie in. See if we can get Lilah a cease and desist so they at least stop talking shit about her.” Bash spoke up quickly, but his words stayed with me. I didn’t want to push Lilah to do something she wasn’t comfortable with, but was I just assuming that?

Later that night, returning home, I found Lilah in the kitchen, barefoot and singing off-tune as she cooked. The smells of tomato and garlic filled the air as pasta boiled on the stove, a skillet full of meat and veggies simmering next to it. Turning to grab something from the fridge, my girl froze when she saw me.

“You’re home!’ she cried happily, skipping over to greet me. Her arms came around my neck, her lips on mine in a soft welcome. Before she could pull away, I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her against me.

“I missed you,” I told her, pressing another kiss to her lips.

“You’re gonna make me burn dinner. Or set the kitchen on fire,” she muttered, turning to peek at the stove but not leaving my arms.

“Alright. Go check it out.” I let her out of my reach as I pulled a stool out, settling at the island to watch her move around the kitchen.

“How are you feeling?” I asked. She froze for a second before resuming stirring at the stove.

“Better than earlier. I can’t lie and say I’m fine, or that it doesn’t bother me that Kyle is going around, telling some made-up sob story while he’s acting like such a little weenie behind the scenes. Frustrated because I don’t really know what to do about it. I’ve had nothing to do with him since I left. I wonder if getting the restraining order made it worse.” She frowned, and my back straightened.

After her parents’ visit, she decided to meet with the local police to file an official report against Kyle and her father.

“Don’t. You have every right to protect yourself. And weenie is not exactly the word I would use, but I have to admit this is definitely bothering me,” I admitted, not liking the feelings of jealousy and possessiveness flooding me.

Fists and graves weren’t going to help me when it came to protecting my girl’s reputation.

“What option do I have? I’ve already told everyone I want nothing to do with Kyle or my family.” She turned, her eyes sparking with fire. I didn’t like that she was upset, but I couldn’t lie and pretend that seeing her all worked up didn’t do something to me.

“What if you told more people at once…” I hedged, Bash’s words from earlier rolling through me.

“Bash mentioned the idea of you giving an exclusive interview, where you get to tell your side of the story. You said it yourself that you’ve already cut them all off. If they’re doing this to save face, the hardest blow would be a public attack like that. Not to mention, you have nothing to hide. You should be proud of everything you’ve done, from when you worked for the family company to what you’re doing now. They never gave you the credit you deserved, and they’ll just bury you further.” The words came pouring out, but Lilah listened closely. Her expression was a mask, her emotions unreadable, which had me on edge.

“I…Well, I never really thought about it. Growing up, I was sort of hidden from the media. Whenever anyone came by to do some sort of shoot or article, I was only allowed to say specific things.” She frowned, the pot bubbling behind her. I stood up and lowered the temperature, pulling her into my arms.

“I don’t want to pressure you into anything. It’s just an idea. Not to mention, if anyone tries to come at you, we have plenty of evidence to document just how many lies Kyle has been telling. I could also just go and kill him. You know that, right?” I said, half-joking, half-serious.

“No. Don’t do that. I don’t ever want you to get in trouble because of something having to do with me. What happens with the club, I trust you all to handle. This is too public. Please. I just found you. I don’t want to lose you. Let me think about what you said. I have a friend who is a journalist. I’d feel comfortable talking to her.”