Chapter Twenty-Six
Leila
The phone vibrates again, a persistent buzz cutting through the quiet, followed by another and another.
A relentless swarm of notifications, each one carrying a new version of the same twisted story, a fresh tabloid headline, or an opinion piece from some self-righteous pundit.
The news of my pregnancy has become fuel for every media outlet that thrives on scandal.
There is no medium left untouched, no corner of the internet where my life hasn’t been dissected, exaggerated, and sensationalized.
I feel the weight of the media vultures’ gaze, feeding off the intimate parts of my life for their clicks and views.
My fingers hover over the phone for a moment, but a strange calm washes over me.
If they are going to speak about me endlessly, I may as well see how wildly their imaginations have taken flight.
I unlock the screen, bracing myself, but still, the absurdity of it all is staggering.
The first headline, from a tabloid infamous for its flair for fiction, boldly declares that Ryan and I have been discussing marriage based on nothing but a single, innocent date they had spotted us on at his office.
Worse still, they claim I’ve betrayed him, cheating on my supposed fiance with Henry, who is blissfully unaware of the affair.
The gall, the ignorance, and the sheer audacity would almost be comical if it wasn’t so cruel.
I scroll further, my heart tightening as the accusations spiral out of control.
Another article, nastier than the last, accuses me of being cast aside by Ares, rejected because of some imagined promiscuity.
They claim his engagement to Cassie was a result of him discovering my supposed lack of character.
It’s disgusting, the venom in their words, the insinuations that I’ve somehow brought all of this upon myself.
But the worst is how they turn my life into spectacle, calling me names: “a wreck,” “a mess.” The words sting more than I care to admit. It's almost laughable in its cruelty, but it pierces deep.
And then there’s Henry. My chest aches at the thought of him.
He’s only just found out he’s going to be a father.
This moment was supposed to be ours, something we shared on our own terms and in our own time.
But now it’s out in the open, tainted by these vicious rumors, twisted into something ugly and public.
The moment we should have cherished has been stolen, reduced to nothing more than fodder for gossip.
Luke suffers, too. He always does, doesn’t he?
My ever-faithful shadow, absorbing my pain as if it were his own.
He’s been by my side for so long, and yet it feels like I’m constantly dragging him through the mud.
Every time things seem to settle, another storm rolls in, and there he is, standing strong, shielding me as best he can.
But I know Luke, he blames himself for this, too.
He was there when the pictures were taken.
He probably thinks he should have done more and that it’s somehow his fault that these vultures swooped in when they did.
It isn’t, of course. But I know how heavy his heart must be right now.
And then there’s Ryan. I feel the tears threaten as his name passes through my mind.
He hasn’t said much since this whirlwind began, but I can feel his distance.
Ryan, ever the pragmatist, always spoke about marriage as if it were a business arrangement, an alliance that made sense on paper.
I’d always known that. But now? What will he think now?
The cold reality of what this media circus has done to me, to my name…
would he still consider it? Would he still want to be associated with me, knowing what the world is saying?
It’s not good for him, his business, or his image.
And the thought of losing him to this hurts more than I could have imagined.
I place the phone down, the headlines still flashing, but I can’t look anymore. They’ve taken enough from me already.
I lay in bed, cocooned in the warmth of the duvet, as though its soft embrace could shield me from the sharp edges of the words the tabloids had carved into my life.
But no amount of fabric could muffle the weight of the headlines or the sting of how deeply they cut into the men I care about.
My mind churns, replaying every cruel accusation, every lie spun for the sake of a story.
The silence of the room feels thick and suffocating until a faint creak pulls me from my thoughts. I glance toward the door.
Luke stands there, his head just barely poking into the room. His eyes are soft with concern as he looks at me.
“Leila… are you alright?” His voice is quiet, almost tentative, as though afraid to disturb the fragile calm I’m trying so hard to hold onto.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” The words slip out too quickly, too easily. It’s a lie wrapped in the hope that if I say it enough, it might become true. But even as I say it, I know I can’t hide from Luke. He sees through me and always has.
He hesitates, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face before stepping further into the room. “There’s something you should know,” he begins, his tone more serious now. “Henry and Ryan… they’ve found the leak.”
His words land like a stone in the still waters of my thoughts, rippling outward, shaking me from my numbness.
A surge of curiosity, no, determination, washes over me.
Whoever had done this, whoever had betrayed us, I needed to know.
I wanted to look them in the eye to ask them why.
Why had they done this? What had I done to deserve it?
Had I unknowingly hurt them, crossed some invisible line that led them to this?
Without a word, I throw back the duvet and rise from the bed, the sudden movement fueled by the questions swirling in my mind. Luke watches me, his steady presence giving me the strength to keep moving forward and face whatever truth was waiting for me in the next room.
“They’re in the living room,” he says softly as I step toward him. His eyes search my features for some sign of hesitation, some sign that I might not be ready for what I’m about to hear. But there is none. I am ready. I have to be.
We walk together down the hallway, the weight of unspoken thoughts hanging in the air between us. The quiet tension was building with each step as we neared the living room, where the truth awaits.
As I step into the living room, Henry crosses the space toward me.
His touch is gentle as he kisses my cheek and guides me to sit.
His protectiveness has always been there, but now it’s amplified, a constant presence since my pregnancy began to show.
He stays close, his hand resting on my back as if his touch could shield me from the weight of everything.
Across the room, Ryan stands with his usual calm, though I can sense an undercurrent in him today, something simmering beneath his composed exterior.
“We heard back from the hospital,” Henry begins, his voice steady but taut with anger. “Between Ryan’s contacts in the media and the pressure we put on the hospital, we know how this all happened.”
I turn to Ryan, and he speaks up, his tone sharp. “A reporter saw you and Luke at the hospital. He asked a nurse, who was his friend, if she knew why you were there. And she told him.”
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. A nurse. Not some master plot, no shadowy conspirator lurking in the wings, just a nurse with loose lips and a friend in the wrong business. My heart sinks with the anticlimax of it. There’s no hidden enemy and no villain I can unmask and defeat. Just this.
Henry speaks again, his grip tightening slightly on my hand. “The nurse has been fired. The hospital let her go this morning.”
Ryan scoffs, his calm demeanor cracking as he folds his arms, a sharpness to his voice now. “Losing her job will be the least of her worries. I’m going to make sure she goes to jail for this.”
The thought of retribution, of punishment, stirs something in me, but not satisfaction.
I should feel relieved that she’s being held accountable, but instead, a wave of disappointment washes over me.
It’s not enough. Jail won’t undo what’s been done.
It won’t erase the headlines or give us back our privacy.
There will always be nurses and reporters, always someone willing to cross a line for a story.
And that thought settles heavily in my chest.
“There’s no need for that,” I say softly, turning to Ryan, my voice steady, though it’s taking all my strength to keep it that way. “What’s done is done. What good would getting her arrested do? It won’t fix what’s happened.”
Ryan’s brow arches, his gaze narrowing at me in a mix of curiosity and disbelief. He is seemingly surprised at me being this resigned. “What do you mean?” he asks.
I take a deep breath, bracing myself, knowing that the words I’m about to speak have been brewing inside me for a while now, ever since the tabloids got hold of this news.
I glance at Henry, Luke, and finally, Ryan, each of them affected by this in their own way.
Each of them carries a piece of my burden.
“This whole situation… it hurts. It hurts all of you.” My voice cracks, but I press on, feeling Henry’s hand tighten around mine in silent support. “They’ve taken something as precious as Henry becoming a father and turned it into a circus, a joke. Something to sell.”
Henry’s jaw clenches, his grip on me becoming firmer.
But I keep going, turning my attention to Luke.
“And Luke… you’ve been suffering with me through all of this.
You’re always by my side, and I know how much this weighs on you.
You never get a break. You’ve been dragged through so much because of me.
” Luke steps forward. His hand comes to rest on my shoulder, the warmth of his touch a wordless comfort, but even his presence can’t ease the storm inside me.
I pause, gathering my strength before standing. My legs feel shaky, but I can’t sit any longer. I need to face Ryan fully now. He watches me, arms still folded, his calm exterior barely masking the intensity in his eyes.
“And you, Ryan,” I begin, my voice trembling despite my efforts to keep it steady.
“You didn’t sign up for this. This… scandal.
When you talked about us being in a family unit, you mentioned how it would benefit us all, my family and your business.
It made sense. But now, this… this isn’t good for you.
It’s not good for business or for your status. And I know… I know what must be done.”
Ryan’s expression changes slightly, his brows furrowing in confusion. There’s a sadness in my voice that I can’t hide. I swallow hard, my heart racing as I prepare to say what I’ve been dreading.
“And what is it that must be done?” he asks, his voice low and steady but with a sharp edge of tension.
I look directly at him. The pain I’ve been holding back breaking through. “Henry is the father of my child. I’m sure you don’t want any part of this anymore.”
His response is immediate, his voice firm. “Why’d you think that?”
“Because,” I say, my voice rising, the emotion spilling out now, “it’s not a good look. You, forming a family unit with a woman everyone thinks cheated on you with another man and having his child. Why would you want that? It’ll affect your reputation and status.”
Ryan’s arms unfold, his expression hardening as he takes a step closer. “Why would that matter?”
I blink, momentarily thrown by his question. “Because this has always been about pragmatism for you. Of course, it matters.”
“No,” he says, his voice low but intense. “Not anymore.”
The weight of his words hangs in the air between us, and before I know it, we’ve stepped closer to one another. The space between us feels charged, and his presence is suddenly more electric. My heart pounds as I look up at him, the tears I’ve been fighting finally brimming in my eyes.
Ryan’s voice softens, but it’s full of an earnestness I’ve never heard from him before. “This… us… it isn’t about pragmatism anymore, Leila. Not for me.”
The room feels still, as if the world itself is holding its breath. Even Henry and Luke seem frozen, watching us but saying nothing. Ryan takes another step toward me, his focus locked solely on me, his hands reaching out to gently hold mine.
“I’ve spent my whole life seeing the world in numbers and logic.
I understood duty. I understood doing what was expected of me.
But that’s not why I’m here now.” His voice hitches, and for a moment, I think he might stop.
But then he takes a deep breath, his grip on my hands tightening.
“I’m standing here, Leila, because this is different.
I’ve never felt this before. I don’t care about the tabloids or the rumors.
I want this. I want us, this family unit, and this life with you. ”
I feel a tear slip down my cheek, my breath catching in my throat as his words sink in, as the truth of them fills the room, undeniable and raw.
“I’m not standing here for business or for status,” Ryan says, his voice breaking slightly. “I’m standing here because I love you, Leila, because I’m in love with you.”