Chapter 29
ELIZABETH
Sophie’s bombshell announcement was still echoing in my ears.
This was a full-blown PR disaster.
My publicist brain was already spinning, running through the list of things I needed to do: activate the crisis team, monitor media and social channels, demonstrate corrective action, plan for long-term repair. Salvage Logan’s image, protect my own.
How had I missed that she had been married—or was still married? Obviously, it had slipped through because I was distracted and had only myself to blame for this disaster. But before I figured everything out, I needed to control the narrative.
Control was everything. Control was what I did best. That’s why I headed out of the room to begin mitigating the damage. I needed to make a statement to the press.
But then a flash of clarity hit me that I couldn’t ignore.
All of that damage control was important to me. But more important was us—me and Logan.
We no longer had to pretend. We didn’t have to sneak around or lie. Now, with Sophie’s charade blown to pieces, nothing was holding us back. I could finally tell him everything I’d been too scared to say. I loved him. I wanted him. And now, we could be together without all the lies.
Logan and I could finally be together for real.
Of course, I couldn’t represent him anymore. This conflict of interest had gone on long enough. I’d have to start transitioning him to a new team. I had plenty of contacts, people I trusted, but I needed to ensure it was someone who cared about him, not just about his public persona.
The media would have a field day. There was no way to reframe Sophie’s runaway bride moment as anything but a disaster, and the second anyone saw me with Logan, the narrative would spiral.
I could already hear the headlines. I needed a plan.
A way to soften the impact. Something that made it clear that I hadn’t hijacked the whole wedding just to end up with the groom.
And then there was my job. My clients. My reputation. PR wasn’t just my career—it was who I was. I had spent years clawing my way up, making a name for myself. Would this undo all of it?
No. I could manage this. I could make it work. I’d step back from Logan professionally, distance myself from Sophie’s disaster, and make sure my job didn’t vanish.
It would be hard, but I could figure it out. I always did.
I just needed to talk to Logan first.
I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the flashes of cameras, ignoring Sophie, who was being spun around by her husband, Lambert, like this was some rom-com finale.
My eyes were locked on him, Logan, stepping into the courtyard.
I reached him just as he stepped into the quiet night air and grabbed his hand, turning him toward me. “We’re free. Now we can finally put all of this behind us. We can figure everything out. Together.”
His fingers twitched against mine, but instead of squeezing back, he slowly pulled away.
The loss was instant and awful, like a door closing between us. My heart stuttered.
His jaw tightened, and it was clear that something was very wrong.
The excitement in my chest wavered. I had been so certain that this was what he wanted too. That he would grab my hand and pull me toward something real. But now, his silence was an answer I didn’t know how to interpret.
“Logan?” I asked hesitantly. “Talk to me.”
He exhaled sharply and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. “You’re already thinking about how to fix everything, aren’t you?”
I frowned. “Of course. This is what I do. But this isn’t just about fixing things. It’s about us.”
“That’s the problem, Elizabeth,” he said, finally looking at me. And I didn’t like what I saw in his eyes. It wasn’t anger; it was exhaustion, as if I had drained him of something vital. “You were going to let me marry someone else.”
The words sliced through me. The air around me felt thin, like I couldn’t quite take in enough of it. I opened my mouth to argue, but he was right.
I had let it happen.
I had stood there, convincing him to go through with it, telling him it was the best move, that it was what we needed.
My heart started pounding too fast, something heavy sinking inside me. “I didn’t want to,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “I didn’t know what else to do. You know how much pressure we were under. I was trying to protect your career.”
He let out a dry, humorless laugh. “And in doing that, you ignored me.” His voice wasn’t loud, but it was sharp. “I told you I didn’t want this. I told you I didn’t want Sophie. I told you that you were the only one I wanted. And you wouldn’t listen.”
I blinked hard, trying to keep the tears from spilling. “I love you.” The words came out choked, desperate. “I was just trying to hold everything together.”
He let out a breath, shaking his head, his voice quieter now. “That’s the thing, Elizabeth. You love the idea of fixing things, of having control over everything, more than you could ever love someone else.”
My chest cracked open. His words kept coming, relentless and painfully accurate. “And it’s not just me. It’s everything. Your work. Your family. Have you even talked to your brother lately? Or have you been too busy trying to control everyone’s lives?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. My hands were trembling now. He wasn’t wrong. I was always fixing, always planning, always trying to control things so they didn’t fall apart.
But in doing that, had I caused them to fall apart?
“I love you,” he said, softer this time, like it physically hurt him to say the words. “But I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep being part of this cycle where you’re trying to fix everything while ignoring the one thing that matters most. Us.”
I reached for him. “Logan, please. I can change. We can make this work. We can fix this.”
But then he let out a quiet, bitter chuckle.
“My dad spent my entire life trying to make me into who he thought I should be. Straighten up, play it safe, make him proud. I disappointed him constantly, just by being myself.” His voice dropped, quiet and raw.
“I don’t want to live like that again. I don’t want to be an eternal disappointment to you, too. ”
“Logan—”
“I don’t want to be something you control, a project.” He took another step back. “I want to be your partner.”
The world felt like it had tilted, everything off-balance.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
Say something. Fix this. Do what you always do.
But my mind was blank. And then, before I could say another word, before I could fix any of this, he turned and walked away.
I had lost him. The courtyard spun. My hands were still trembling, my lungs too tight, like I couldn’t get enough air. I wanted to call him back to fix this.
To tell him what? That I loved him? That I was sorry? That I had spent so long gripping control of everything in my life that I hadn’t realized I was strangling the only thing that mattered? I took a shaky step forward. Then another.
But my phone buzzed in my hand.
I looked down and saw the name on the screen: someone from Sophie’s team. Someone needed me to fix this mess.
Fixing things—that was what I did. It was the only thing I had left.
I exhaled, my heart pounding, and answered. My voice barely worked at first, the words catching in my throat. I forced myself to breathe, to be steady, to find the version of me who didn’t break.
Because if I broke down now, I’d never be able to put myself back together.