Kane’s question isn’t meant to hurt her, but she flinches anyway.
“No. He won’t. He hates dealing with the media even more than you do, but puts up with it because of Jessica. And we know that he wouldn’t want Jessica to find out that he had been unfaithful. Not when there isn’t a prenup and she would clean him out. Fuck, he’s drunk constantly anyway, so it’s not like anyone takes him seriously.” Kole’s pissed voice confirms what I thought about Kyle.
“And Mom and Dad?” Kane asks his brother.
Kole looks at him, and I know they both hate the thought of keeping this, their grandson, from their parents.
“I think they should know. They deserve to know,” Mia speaks, and we all look at her. “If you’re serious about not letting this be public knowledge, the next biggest scandal to rock Hollywood, then the only other people who should know are them. But that is my load to carry. I refuse to let you guys do that. By keeping this from your parents, it would only hurt them. By not knowing, they would miss out on knowing their grandson and he would miss out on their love. Regardless of how he came to be, it would be heartless to keep him from them.”
I give her a reassuring hug, feeling so proud that she was able to come to a decision on her own.
“Then it’s settled. No more secrets between us, but the world will never know. This is no one else’s business but the Masters family,” I tell the room and instantly feel like some of the heavy currents that had been filling the room dissolve around us.
This won’t be stress-free to withstand. I’m sure the coming days and months will even be painful at times, but I know without a shadow of doubt that for me, this will be the easiest hardship I could endure. I’m strong enough to handle whatever is gossiped and lied about me and my relationship with Kane. I would be able to stand tall alone, but with Kane at my side, I know there is nothing that could ever be said to tear us apart.
I know the truth.
We know the truth.
And the love that wraps that truth up in a protective bond is stronger than anything that could ever attempt to knock it down.
WE LEFT KOLE’S HOUSE NOT long after we had all agreed to Willow’s plan. I know I’m not the only one who hates this, but seeing the determination she has to not only bear this load, but also to come together in order to hold Mia up when she isn’t able to do it herself has me falling in love with her all over again.
I wasn’t kidding when I told her this wouldn’t go away. That it will get so much worse before there is even a possibility they forget about us. This is entertainment news gold.
I’ve lived this life for so long that nothing the media says fazes me anymore, but it wasn’t always like that. When I was young and impressionable, the lies they would come up with about my personal life made my desire for privacy take a backseat. I fed into every rumor, lie, and truth, giving them all of me until I had nothing left. Then I realized that they would say what they wanted regardless of my denial or verification.
They want blood, and it didn’t matter who is sliced and damaged in the process. From that moment on, I never opened my mouth to give them gasoline to build a fire. Until earlier.
But my sweet Willow has never had to deal with this.
Until recently, she couldn’t even see past the hurt a few people in her life had inflicted upon her in order to see her own beauty and worth. Their judgments, on such a small scale, had changed the way she was able to see herself. Those lies became a false reality. All because she let those judgments break her.
I’m not stupid. I know how far she’s come. She went from hiding herself from me to openly giving. She’s gone from the safety of shadows and stepped into the spotlight. All of this she did by herself, but still, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what will happen when the judgment and scorn are on a much larger scale.