es

voice was quieter now, but no less final. "I don't want to do t

er again after tonight anyway. Consider this me helping you out of

ey

the room, her phone still lit in her hand, the number of shares climbing withou

-

ext mo

woke up, and she understood, somewhere between the first a

nes. That was the only mercy in it.

an" read another, beneath a photo that had already been c

m the camera, just distant enough to still be a strang

her lock screen. "You awake? Call me

ith a sinking, familiar feeling that the version of this story circulating online wa

in this morning, because he didn't want anyone watching his face when he read the headlines. Now he was glad for it. Half a block from Sunrise Entertainment's main entrance, he ca

to the private underground garage, one hand steady on the wheel, the other resting on the ge

d in reserved spots. He pulled into his, killed the engine,

t tog

he door. His footsteps echoed through the concrete space as he walked toward the

nd pressed the butt

them found a reason to glance his way, quick and curious, like he couldn't see them doing it. He kept his eyes forward, jaw tight

inging on every desk. Someone from the PR team had three screens

low and urgent. "No comment at this

d. He pushed open Daniel's o

rossed, looking down at the crowd of repo

Daniel said, with

n't k

l to turn. "Yo

ragging a hand through his hair. "I don't have a last name. I don't know

moment before finally sittin

use

, a wall of headlines and share counts lighting the

at a party. That's the whole story

ar worse ledges. "You smiled. You shook her father's hand. You called her honey, Thayer, in front of two reporters with press credentials. If you deny it now

ened. "So what, we

ievable, distant enough to be manageable. Then we stage a clean breakup, no fault on either side, and it f

N

aye

ths of my life performing a relationship for people who don't know either of us, built

nd something in his expression shifted.

done it before. I watched what four years of silence cost you the last

om wen

stays this small. I can't promise it doesn't reach back for anything else

long moment. Something co

low, controlled, but there was an edge underneath it that hadn't been there before. "It'

pened hi

itting. No matter what. You hear me? I'm not walking away from my career beca

-

icked up his phone. "It's done," he said, the moment

knot of guilt settling low in his stomach that he didn't examine too closely. Because examining it would mean admitting what he a

-

ate, Ames

s was already moving, jogging around the front of th

out before he got there, offering him a sm

look faintly embarrassed, dipped his h

st the afternoon sky, windows catching the light like something built to be looked at from a distance rather than lived in up close. A row of staff had already assembled near the entrance, the quiet, practiced choreography of a hou

e main living room sw