Chapter 22
“Who breaks up with someone in a handwritten letter?” Duke cried, tossing the folded piece of stationary before him.
He eyed his family members one by one—each seated at the roundtable in Betzy’s kitchen.
“A writer,” Mom’s boyfriend, Michael, said.
“Someone who’s scared,” Betzy said.
Grandma Lo lifted a finger in the air. “Absolutely. If I don’t have the strength to not buy potato chips, I send someone else to do the shopping for me.”
“Same,” Kat said.
His mom, Claudia, waved a hand over the air. “I never do my own shopping.”
“Pretty good pictures in here,” Michael said as he thumbed through the magazine.
Duke shifted in his seat, trying very hard to not let panic get the best of him. He could not lose Vivi now. After something so stupid.
“The note doesn’t say she’s breaking up with you,” James said. “It says she’s…”
“Taking some time to rethink the relationship,” Zander filled in for him.
“Without seeing you for a while,” Sawyer added.
“Doesn’t sound good to me,” Perry said through the line.
Duke glanced at his phone where it rested face-up on the table. “Thanks for your insight,” he mumbled. “It’s not good, obviously. It’s freaking awful.”
Camila reached out and took the note. “Not necessarily.” She looked over it for a moment, thoughtful. “I think she’s…daring herself to break up with you.”
Perry coughed through the line. “Sorry,” he blurted. “Dang cleansing drink.” The muted thumps that came through next had Duke picturing the guy smacking his chest with a palm. He coughed some more. “I’ll excuse myself.” A small beep let out a second before the screen went black.
Duke turned his eyes back on Camila.
“She loves you,” his sister-in-law continued. “That’s why she’s asking for time instead of just breaking things off. She’ll make the right choice.”
“I can’t believe Sylvia made such a spectacle last night,” Grandma Lo said with a groan. “I hold to the idea that it reflects more poorly on her than anyone else, you and Vivia included.”
“Exactly,” Duke said. “Sylvia looks like the crazy one here.”
“And as far as Benton family scandals go,” she added, “we’ve definitely had worse.”
“True,” Betzy agreed.
Duke shook his head. “Why did Vivi have to overreact like this?”
“Have you seen what the media’s doing to this yet?” Claudia asked. “They’ve brought her boys into it. Some are saying she was gold digging clear back before they were born. Dating you, and then one of the Knox boys.”
“She’s not after money,” Duke said, a new dart of heat stabbing into his heart. He refused to believe he’d really lose her. It wasn’t going to happen. He just needed to…to make her see that being with him wouldn’t be as public as she feared.
But could he really make that sort of guarantee?
“I’m sure she just needs some time,” Kat said.
“I had to give Kat time when she wanted it,” Zander added.
“Camila needed time too after the tabloids had at her,” James said.
Michael chuckled under his breath. “I have to give Claudia time every month.”
Duke considered the text that came in at six that morning. Left a note for you on your front door.
That was it. She’d driven onto his estate, walked right up his steps, and tucked the envelope in the wedge between the doorframe and the door. He’d played it back on his home security footage to watch it for himself.
What Viv hadn’t done, sadly, was stick around long enough for him to see her, hold her, assure her—in person—that everything would be alright.
He was certain that she, like he, had stayed up the whole night long scanning through public reactions about Sylvia’s outburst. Very few of them, it seemed, slanted a negative light on Vivi, thank heavens.
But some did, and he could only imagine, after never taking a real step into the spotlight prior, how uneasy that would make her feel.
And then there were a rare few that divulged parts of her background and personal life, including mention of the twins.
Boy, did that boil his blood. He’d seen how protective she was where the twins were concerned.
He felt a similar weight there. An urgency to shield them at all costs.
But from his perspective, it didn’t have to come at the cost of their relationship.
Heck, Duke had enough funds to protect them better than anyone.
“Kind of ironic that a woman who offers people a shot at redemption ends up getting slandered herself,” James said.
“Yeah,” Camila agreed. “It doesn’t seem fair.”
“I wish more than anything we could give her the redemption she gives everyone else,” Duke said.
“Maybe we can,” Grandma Lo cried. “That’s how we’re going to get your girl back,” At once, she was on her feet and pacing across the floor.
The same idea was unfolding in his mind as well. “We contact the people she’s interviewed,” Duke mused aloud.
“That’s a great idea,” Betzy said.
Zander set his elbows on the table. “We’ll help.”
“We’ve just got to think about the best format,” Mom said, getting in on the action.
“It’s got to be soon,” Duke said. “Before she forgets how perfect we are for each other.”
Betzy grinned at him. “You two are perfect together.”
“Do you guys remember what James did when things between us went south?” Camila asked.
Lorraine locked eyes with Camila across the kitchen. “That’s it.” She walked back over to the table and turned her gaze to Duke.
“Oh yeah,” he breathed. “You laid it all out there on that talk show.”
“Exactly,” Grandma Lo said. “On Monday, the gala will be a hot topic on every morning show.”
“True,” Betzy said. “So it’s a matter of picking the best one.”
“I know the best one,” Duke said, recalling one of Vivi’s first interviews. A morning show host who’d lost her job. The very job she regained after the article came out. It was also the very host who’d interviewed James.
“Samantha Pingley,” Michael blurted.
Duke nodded.
“That’s who I talked to,” James said.
Claudia perked up. “I forgot all about the scandal Samantha had back then.”
“I did too until I was catching up on Vivi’s articles,” Duke said. “But thanks to Verit?, she got a second chance. I’m sure she’d be more than happy to help out.”
“Wait,” Betzy said, lifting a hand. “The last thing we want to do is make this any bigger. Let’s watch what happens with the story today, contact the morning show and get something in the works, but do it only if it’s necessary.”
Nods moved in a wave around the table. “Good plan.”
“Either way, let’s gather what we need from those who can vouch for her,” Grandma said. “We’ll take it from there.”
She caught eyes with Duke once more. “I really think Vivia belongs in our family. We’re going to do what we can to help her see that too.”
Duke felt the truth of those words deep in his gut.
It was one thing to know when a woman was right for you.
But having his family alongside him, that felt like an added gift.
He only hoped Vivi would see for herself that, despite what had happened, despite the potential issues that might arise, they were meant to be together.