Chapter 28
By midnight, the internet had become a war zone.
Sabrina knew this because Chloe confiscated her phone approximately three seconds after arriving at her apartment.
"No."
Sabrina looked up from where she sat curled into the corner of her couch still wearing her gala dress and emotional devastation.
"I wasn't even doing anything."
"You were staring at comments like they personally owed you money."
Fair.
Chloe tossed the phone onto the kitchen counter out of reach before returning with two glasses of wine.
"You need damage control."
"I need a new identity."
"You're being dramatic."
Sabrina laughed softly without humor.
"People think I got paid to date him, Chloe."
Because they did.
The hashtags alone were enough to make her physically ill.
#ContractGirlfriend
#LucasCooperExposed
#PRRelationship
Some people defended her.
Unfortunately, far more didn't.
Apparently the internet had collectively decided Sabrina was either:
Which honestly felt exhausting.
Chloe sat beside her carefully.
"You know none of this changes what's actually happening between you two, right?"
Sabrina stared blankly ahead.
"That's the problem," she admitted quietly.
Because suddenly every moment felt contaminated.
The bookstore.
The kisses.
The late-night phone calls.
It had started fake.
And now Sabrina couldn't stop wondering if she'd simply fallen harder than Lucas had.
A knock sounded against the apartment door.
Both girls froze instantly.
Then another knock.
Slower this time.
Sabrina already knew.
Of course she did.
Chloe watched her carefully.
"You want me to stay?"
Sabrina hesitated.
Then quietly:
"No."
Chloe squeezed her shoulder once before standing.
"If he says something stupid, I bite."
Reasonable honestly.
A minute later Sabrina opened the apartment door slowly.
Lucas stood there looking wrecked.
Not polished celebrity wrecked.
Actually wrecked.
Tie loosened.
Hair messy.
Eyes exhausted.
And somehow seeing him hurt made this worse instead of better.
His gaze lifted toward her immediately.
"Sabrina."
Her chest tightened painfully.
"Hi."
For one terrible second neither moved.
Then Lucas spoke quietly.
"Can I come in?"
She stepped aside automatically.
Dangerous instinct.
The apartment fell silent after Chloe slipped out with one final threatening look toward Lucas.
Then it was just them.
Again.
But tonight felt different.
Not intimate.
Not soft.
Fragile.
Lucas stood near the windows while Sabrina stayed near the couch like physical distance might somehow protect her emotionally.
Neither spoke at first.
Finally Lucas exhaled quietly through his nose.
"The documents are real."
There it was.
No softening.
No excuses.
The honesty hurt anyway.
Sabrina looked down briefly at the floor.
"Okay."
His expression tightened instantly at how quiet she sounded.
"Sabrina, please look at me."
She did.
And immediately wished she hadn't.
Because Lucas looked terrified.
Actually terrified.
"I was going to tell you," he said quickly. "I just—"
"You waited too long."
The words slipped out softer than intended.
But Lucas flinched anyway.
Because they were true.
"You're right," he admitted immediately.
That somehow hurt worse than defensiveness would've.
Sabrina crossed her arms tightly.
"When?"
"What?"
"When were you planning to tell me?" Her voice shook slightly now despite her efforts. "Before or after I completely humiliated myself falling for you publicly?"
His face changed instantly.
Pain.
Sharp and immediate.
"Sabrina."
"No, seriously." She laughed once softly, but it sounded awful even to her own ears. "Do you have any idea how stupid I feel right now?"
"You are not stupid."
"But everyone else thinks I am."
The words finally cracked apart.
And suddenly the humiliation she'd been holding back all night surged upward violently.
"People think I was hired." Her eyes burned now. "They think every time I defended you or stood beside you or—"
Her voice broke.
Lucas moved toward her instinctively.
She stepped back immediately.
The hurt in his expression deepened visibly.
"I never wanted this to happen."
"But it did."
Silence crashed heavily between them.
Outside, rain battered softly against the windows while London blurred gold beneath the storm.
Lucas rubbed a hand across his jaw roughly before speaking again.
"It started fake," he admitted quietly. "But you know that's not what this became."
Sabrina's chest tightened painfully.
Because she did know.
That was the problem.
She knew him now.
The real him.
And despite everything, some terrible hopeful part of her still believed him.
Which felt dangerous.
Lucas looked exhausted suddenly.
Like he hadn't slept at all.
"I should've told you sooner," he continued quietly. "I just kept thinking if I waited until things felt stable—"
Lucas stopped himself abruptly.
But Sabrina caught it immediately.
"If things felt stable?" she repeated softly.
His eyes closed briefly.
Damn.
That answer alone said too much.
Because it meant somewhere along the way, Lucas had realized losing her mattered enough to fear.
Sabrina looked away first.
"This is exactly why I was scared of your world."
The confession slipped out quietly.
Raw.
Lucas went still instantly.
"What does that mean?"
"It means everything becomes public eventually." She swallowed hard. "Nothing gets to stay yours."
The words hit him visibly.
Because they echoed exactly what he'd once admitted himself.
Lucas stared at her for a long second before speaking carefully.
"You are not part of some publicity strategy to me."
"But I was."
The silence afterward hurt.
Because technically she wasn't wrong.
Lucas looked almost angry now.
Not at her.
At himself.
"I was trying to survive," he admitted quietly. "My publicist suggested the fake relationship after the breakup with Claire because my image was collapsing and every headline about me was becoming a disaster."
Sabrina's stomach twisted sharply.
Hearing it explained out loud somehow made everything feel more real.
More humiliating.
Lucas continued anyway.
"And then I met you."
His voice softened dangerously.
"And suddenly nothing felt fake anymore."
God.
Her heart physically hurt hearing that.
Because Lucas sounded honest.
Completely honest.
But honesty didn't erase damage.
Sabrina looked toward him again slowly.
"You should've trusted me enough to tell me."
"I know."
"And now everyone's tearing me apart online because they think I'm some desperate girl who got attached to a celebrity contract."
His jaw tightened hard.
"I don't care what people think."
"Well I do!"
The words burst out louder than intended.
Lucas blinked once.
Sabrina immediately looked away, embarrassed by her own emotion.
"I had a career before this," she whispered. "I had a life where people respected me for my work instead of who I was standing beside."
The vulnerability in her voice visibly wrecked him.
Because finally Lucas understood:
this wasn't just about heartbreak.
It was about identity.
About losing herself publicly.
Lucas moved closer again carefully this time.
Slower.
"I never wanted you hurt because of me."
Sabrina laughed softly through the ache in her chest.
"That feels unavoidable now."
The room fell quiet again.
Heavy.
Exhausted.
Then Lucas said the one thing she wasn't prepared for.
"I love you."
Everything stopped.
Sabrina stared at him instantly.
Lucas looked almost startled by his own words too.
Like they escaped accidentally.
But he didn't take them back.
Didn't soften them.
His eyes stayed locked on hers while emotion cracked visibly through all his usual restraint.
"I love you," he repeated quietly. "And I know I'm late saying it. I know I screwed this up. But none of this has been fake to me for a long time."
Her breath caught painfully hard.
Because this was Lucas.
Terrified, guarded Lucas.
And he looked completely exposed standing there now.
Sabrina's chest ached violently.
But underneath the love confession sat something worse:
fear.
Fear that love might not survive his world.
Lucas stepped closer again carefully.
This time she didn't move away.
His voice dropped quieter.
"I should've protected you better."
That almost broke her completely.
Because for the first time all night, Lucas wasn't trying to defend himself.
He was blaming himself.
And somehow that hurt more than the leak itself.
Tears burned behind Sabrina's eyes despite her efforts.
"I don't know how to do this," she admitted finally.
Neither did he.
You could see it all over his face.
Lucas reached toward her slowly before stopping himself halfway.
Still asking permission.
Even now.
That hesitation nearly destroyed her.
Finally Sabrina closed the distance herself.
Not kissing him.
Just resting her forehead briefly against his chest while emotion overwhelmed her all at once.
Lucas inhaled sharply.
Then wrapped his arms around her instantly like he physically couldn't stop himself.
The embrace felt desperate.
Not polished.
Not cinematic.
Two exhausted people trying not to lose each other inside something bigger than both of them.
Lucas buried his face briefly against her hair.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
And for the first time since the gala, Sabrina believed he meant it completely.