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“What are we going to do?” Colleen shrieks. “They’re supposed to arrive tomorrow evening.” She stands up from her seat and points a furious finger in my direction. “They’ve booked out every room weeks ago. Do you know how many guests I’ve had to turn away to accommodate that group?” She flops back in her seat, looking worried.

Hazel looks to her friends and back to me. “The town’s going to be crawling with people who are here for the wrong reasons.”

“I knew that was a bad idea!” Clyde adds, shaking his head. “It’s bad luck, making a mockery of the Phantom.” He throws up his hands in defeat. “I tried to warn you, but nobody ever listens.”

All it takes is one mention of the Phantom to send the room into a panic. Superstition and folklore are woven into the fabric of this town. No amount of logic or reason can undo generations of deeply ingrained fear of upsetting the Phantom.

This is not at all how this meeting was supposed to go.

“Do you think he’ll punish us?” Hazel asks, her voice sounding worried. “Has anything like this ever happened before?”

It says a lot that Hazel, of all people, asks that question. All it takes is one calm person showing fear for everyone else to follow. The silence dissolves into anxious whispers, and the room seems to grow warmer by the second.

“Hang on. Hang on. Everyone calm down,” I say… “I promise everything is going to be fine.”

“How do you expect us to believe that?” Clyde voices the question everyone is thinking.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Kira burying her face in her hands. Seeing her so visibly upset feels like a knife to my heart. This is all my fault, but she’s the one who will be paying for it.

I scrub a hand over my jaw. “I’m trying to explain that this is all a big misunderstanding.” I pause, waiting for their attention. “Everything is under control. I told you, I’m taking care of it.”

“It’ll blow over,” Hank says, trying to help calm everyone down. “You know we’ve got luck on our side, as long as we’re in the right. The Phantom is like the scales of justice. It’s the way it’s always been in Ashford Falls.”

“Are you willing to bet the town’s reputation on it? Because I’m not so sure,” Fergus says.

“Are we not worried the Phantom doesn’t look kindly on sexual relations out of wedlock?” Colleen calls out.

Miss Scarlett’s head whips around, her glare snapping to Colleen. “I’d imagine our Phantom has far more pressing sins to worry about than two consenting adults having sex.”

Colleen holds up her hands, shrinking back in her seat. “It was just a simple question,” she says defensively. Lowering her voice, she adds, “I guess it’d depend on how he was raised⁠—”

At that, Miss Scarlett jumps out of her seat, and luckily, Guy is quick to grab her. He whispers something in her ear that apparently calms her down because she sinks back into her seat with a disgruntled huff.

As he moves back to his seat, he flashes me a proud grin, but I quickly look away. I’m so fucking pissed at him right now.

Confusion flashes across his face, followed by hurt, and somehow, he has the audacity to look offended.

He raises his hand like he’s in class but doesn’t even wait for me to call on him before blurting out his question. “What the hell is your problem?”

I jerk back as if I’ve just been slapped, my vision going blurry as white-hot anger surges through my veins. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I’m about one millisecond away from launching myself off this stage and tackling him right here in front of the entire town when the door slams open with a hard thunk.

Leo stomps in, his finger pointing at me. “All you had to do was keep it in your pants…”

I’m not going to lie, the sight of my oldest brother stomping toward me, looking angrier than I’ve ever seen him, has my balls shriveling up. My mouth goes dry, and I hold up my hands. “Look, Leo, it’s not what it looks like,” I try to explain, but the disgust on his face stops me cold.

He shakes his head. “I fucking hope it was worth it.”

The disappointment radiating off him cuts deeper than all the collective judgment in the room combined. Old wounds I’ve buried for years rip open, and I’m hit with that same horrible regret all over again.

Why do I always do this to myself? I knew the risks that something like this could happen. I knew what was at stake. But I was so blinded by my desire, by my feelings that were growing stronger every day, that I was powerless to stop it.

I stand there, mentally berating myself as my panicked thoughts spiral out of control. My biggest fear isn’t disappointing the entire town, or having my public image and reputation ruined…It’s someone getting hurt because of me. Again.

I have no fucking clue how I’m going to fix this, but I have to try.

I gather my last bit of resolve and straighten my shoulders. “This meeting is adjourned. Don’t worry, my brothers and I are going to sort this out. Go home, everyone, and please refrain from commenting on any more videos.”

When nobody moves, Miss Scarlett stands, sticks two fingers in her mouth, and lets out a sharp whistle. “You heard him. Let’s get out of their hair and keep our traps shut.” She pats Kira on the back and pulls her into a reassuring hug. “If you need anything at all, you call me. Understand?” Then she turns her narrowed gaze on me, pointing two fingers in my direction. “And you…you need to fix this.”