Chapter 7
Mystery Woman no more.
Kylee’s phone buzzed in her lap as the Uber sped toward home. She glanced at the screen. Kelly.
She sighed, swiping to answer. “Hey.”
“Bitch!” Kelly screamed into the phone. “Did you see the headlines?!”
Kylee blinked. “What are you talking about?”
“Open the web. Just look. Now!”
Her heart dropped. She quickly pulled up a browser, her hands trembling. There it was the first thing on the screen.
“Mystery Woman Behind Idaho Sunshine Revealed Backstage Photo Shows Her Wrapped Around Rio Riot.”
The image was undeniable. There she was, legs wrapped around Rio’s waist, his hands on her ass, their lips locked in a kiss that screamed possession.
“Fuck,” Kylee yelled, her stomach turning. “Jake is going to see this!”
Her pulse pounded in her ears. There was no undoing this.
The secret she tried to keep tucked away in L.A.
had just blown up across every headline in the country.
Her hands shook as she tried to scroll further, but the pictures only got worse Rio kissing her neck, his hand tangled in her hair, her head thrown back in what was clearly pleasure.
It didn’t look like a one-time backstage flirtation.
It looked like a love story. Or worse… a scandal!
“Kelly, what do I do?” Kylee said, her voice raw. “This… this wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
Kelly was quiet for a second. “Do you regret it?”
Kylee looked out the window. They were almost home. Just a few more turns and she’d be back to her kids, back to Jake. Back to reality.
“No,” she said. “I just didn’t want it to be like this. I didn’t want to hurt anyone… especially the kids.”
“Well, Jake kind of blew that when he decided to screw his receptionist,” Kelly said sharply. “This is just karma putting on glitter.”
Kylee let out a shaky laugh. “Yeah, well, karma’s a bitch with a spotlight.”
The Uber pulled into her neighborhood, and her stomach twisted. She already saw two neighbors in their driveways, talking and looking at their phones.
Kelly’s voice dropped low. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Kylee admitted. “But I will be.”
As the car stopped in front of her house, she braced herself. The garage door was wide open. Jake’s car was still in the driveway.
Kylee ended the call, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the car.
She felt the weight of the headlines already settling onto her shoulders.
The woman who left as a wife and mother just became the center of a national tabloid firestorm.
She knew the second she opened that front door, the fallout would begin.
Kylee stepped into the house as quietly as she could. Jake was in the kitchen with Jake Jr., zipping up his duffel bag and talking about the game. He hadn’t seen it yet. Her heart raced. She still had time. Maybe just a little longer before the storm reached him.
“I was thinking maybe we skip the game today,” she said, forcing calm into her voice as she set down her bag. “We could order pizza, watch a movie just hang out?”
Jake looked at her, confused. “What? No way. Jake Jr. has a big game today.”
Jake Jr. threw on his cap. “I gotta go, Mom. I can’t miss it.”
Kylee swallowed the lump in her throat. “Right. Of course. I’ll go get ready.”
Jake kissed her cheek quickly still in autopilot mode and headed out the door for the clinic. She had a few precious moments of quiet. The kids didn’t know. Jake didn’t know. But someone would soon.
Hours later at the clinic, Rachel was hunched behind the front desk scrolling her phone when she saw it. A photo of Kylee. Legs wrapped around Rio Riot. Her lips on his. The headline blaring:
"MYSTERY WOMAN BEHIND IDAHO SUNSHINE REVEALED"
Her eyes went wide.
“Oh. My. God.” Without hesitation, she stormed down the hallway to Jake’s office, practically bursting through the door. “Jake! You need to see this. Now.”
Jake looked up from a chart, annoyed. “Rachel, I’m with a patient.”
She shoved the phone in his face. “It’s Kylee.”
His eyes narrowed as he grabbed the phone and stared at the screen. His wife. Wrapped around a rock star.
Color drained from his face, and then rage filled it just as fast.
Meanwhile, Kylee was getting dressed in the bathroom, completely unaware. She tossed her phone in her purse, brushed a few strands of hair back, and headed to the game.
As soon as she stepped out of the car, she felt the stares. People weren’t subtle. Heads turned. Mothers whispered. A dad holding a coffee shook his head and looked away. She spotted Cassie and Taylor, rushing toward her like they couldn’t get there fast enough.
“Girl!” Cassie hissed. “What is happening?!”
Taylor grabbed her arm. “Is it true? You and Rio Riot? The song is about you?!”
Kylee tried to play it cool. “It’s… complicated.”
“Complicated?!” Cassie squealed. “That man had you up against a wall like a damn porn star! You looked hot, not gonna lie.”
Taylor nodded. “Everyone’s talking about it. Facebook groups are on fire. It’s like The Bachelor meets TMZ.”
Kylee gave a tight smile. “Can we not do this here? Please?”
They nodded, but their eyes were wide with curiosity and admiration. As Kylee turned to walk toward the bleachers, she could feel it again.
The whispers. The judgment. The fantasy. She wasn’t just Kylee anymore. She was “the woman behind Idaho Sunshine.” Kylee settled onto the bleachers, trying to focus on Jake Jr.’s football warm-up drills, her phone buzzed in her purse. She hesitated, then pulled it out.
Text from Rio: Saw the headlines. Are you okay?
I can have my people get it taken down.
Say the word and I’ll come get you.
Her heart fluttered and clenched at the same time. The world was exploding around her, but somehow he still made her feel safe. She stared at the message for a long moment, blocking out the noise of the crowd, the whispers, the murmur of her name drifting through the air.
Kylee typed back quickly, thumbs trembling: I’m okay. Just overwhelmed. Everyone’s staring at me.
Jake hasn’t called yet… but I know it’s coming.
Another text came in almost instantly
Rio: I’m serious. I’ll fly out right now. You don’t have to go through this alone.
She closed her eyes. The noise around her faded.
Jake Jr. was charging down the field, her son her world was about to make a play, and all she could think about was the man on the other side of the country who wanted to fight for her.
She typed one more message: Let me get through today. I’ll call you tonight. She hit send, then locked her phone and slipped it back in her bag. Whatever happened next there was no hiding anymore.
Jake stormed into the bleachers, eyes blazing as he grabbed Kylee’s arm. “Kylee, what the fuck is this?!” he hissed. “Let’s go. Now!”
The crowd’s whispers seemed to grow louder as she stood abruptly, pulling her arm free. “Jake, not here. Not in front of the kids,” she said, voice trembling but firm.
“Oh, now you want to be proper?” he snapped, jaw tight. “Where was that when you were wrapped around that rock star? You think I want to argue here? I want answers, Kylee!”
She took a deep breath, fighting tears. “I don’t want to fight, especially not in front of Jake Jr. and the girls. But you can’t just storm in and demand things like this. We have a family!”
He shook his head bitterly. “Family? You think this is about family? It’s about betrayal. You’re out there being a whore while I’m left embarrassed!”
Their voices grew louder, voices sharp with pain and anger, attracting stares from other parents and players. Kylee’s fists clenched at her sides. “You want to blame me? Maybe you should look in the mirror. You’re the one who fucked your receptionist first!”
“Oh, so now it’s a game of who did worse?” Jake growled. “I’m done playing this.”
She stepped back, eyes flashing. “So what? You’re just going to yell and storm off? Grow up, Jake.”
The tension thickened between them, words like knives. Somewhere beneath the rage, the heartbreak screamed louder. The fight wasn’t just about the moment it was everything that had come before, and everything neither of them knew how to fix.
Jake turned sharply and walked away, leaving Kylee standing alone, her heart pounding, the weight of their fractured lives pressing down on her.
Back at home, the tension didn’t ease. The door slammed behind them as Jake’s voice boomed through the living room.
“You’ve embarrassed me in front of everyone, Kylee!”
“Do you even realize that?” His face was flushed, anger barely contained.
Kylee shot back, eyes blazing. “Embarrassed you? What about what you did to me? Did that ever cross your mind?”
Jake’s jaw tightened. “No one knows about that. And I intend to keep it that way.”
“Oh, so now you’re the good guy in this mess? Please! Don’t act like you’re some innocent victim.”
He took a step closer, voice low but biting. “Is that why you lied about how you got this trip? How you told me the first concert wasn’t that good, said Rio was an ass during the meet and greet? What else have you been hiding? Did Kelly even go with you?”
Kylee’s breath hitched. “I was protecting what little peace we had left. Maybe if you hadn’t fucked Rachel and got me these tickets to make up for it, none of this would have happened!”
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Protecting peace? By running off with the lead singer and playing the victim? That’s rich.”
Her voice dropped, sharp as glass. “I didn’t run off
With him, Jake. I finally felt something real for once. Something you stopped giving me a long time ago.”
Jake’s voice cracked like thunder, shaking the walls. “So you fucked him?!” His eyes burned with raw fury. “I hope it was worth it! You are losing someone who actually loved you, just for some rock star who’s already forgotten you and moved on to his next whore!”
Kylee’s face flushed with anger and hurt, her voice rising to match his. “Fuck you, Jake! Don’t you dare put this all on me like I’m the only one to blame! You chose to cheat. You’re the one who broke us first!”