LOVELORNED

HEARTMENDED CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER 6: TAKEN DOWN

The email came at 9:03 AM.

From Dreame.

Subject: NOTICE: Temporary Removal of LOVELORNED

Dear Ms. Hart,

Pursuant to a filed injunction, LOVELORNED has been temporarily removed from all Dreame platforms pending resolution of the copyright dispute.

Estimated timeline: 60-90 days.

We will notify you of any updates.

60-90 days.

2 to 3 months.

Gone.

I didn’t scream.

I didn’t cry.

I just stared at the screen until the words blurred.

Kayla knocked on my doorframe. “Maya? You good?”

“No,” I said. “They took it down.”

Her face fell. “The whole book?”

“Every chapter. Even the ones Addison didn’t touch.”

My phone exploded.

Caleb: I’m so sorry. I’m on my way.

Ms. R: We expected this. It’s step 1. Now we fight.

Priya: Do NOT post. Let us handle.

Readers: 40 DMs.

“Where did the book go??”

“Maya are you okay??”

“This isn’t fair”

One DM stopped me.

@lilyreader23: Hi Maya. I don’t know if you’ll see this. But LOVELORNED got me through my sister’s funeral. I printed Chapter 17 and keep it in my wallet. Please don’t give up. The story is yours. We know it is.

I read it 3 times.

Then I opened HEARTMENDED - Draft 1.

Word count: 3,001

I typed: 3,002.

Caleb showed up 20 minutes later. Still no umbrella.

He didn’t try to hug me. He just sat on my floor.

“I called my lawyer,” he said. “We can countersue for damages. For lost income. For defamation.”

“I don’t want money,” I said. “I want my book back.”

“I know.”

We sat in silence.

Then he said, “Tell me what to do.”

“Write with me,” I said. “Not for me. With me. Chapter by chapter. So there’s proof. So there’s timestamps. So no one can ever say it wasn’t mine.”

He nodded. Pulled out his laptop.

“Okay. What’s Chapter 1 of HEARTMENDED about?”

“A girl whose book gets taken,” I said. “And decides to write a louder one.”

So we wrote.

Side by side. No talking. Just keys.

2 hours. 1,400 words.

At 4 PM, Addison posted.

Instagram. Photo of her and Caleb from 2023.

Caption: “Some people rewrite history. Others lived it. #CoAuthor #Truth”

It got 80K likes in an hour.

Tasha from PR texted: We see it. Don’t engage. We’re drafting a statement.

I looked at Caleb.

He looked at me.

“Don’t,” I said.

“I wasn’t going to,” he said. “I’m busy.”

He pointed at the screen.

HEARTMENDED - Draft 1

Word count: 4,402

“Keep going?” he asked.

“Keep going,” I said.

If they wanted to take LOVELORNED, fine.

I’d just write something they couldn’t touch.