Breaking the News
1424 Words
The afternoon sunlight streamed faintly through the blinds, spilling golden streaks across Skylar’s floor. The city outside was alive with its usual noise, but inside her apartment, silence reigned—a silence heavy with decision, with the weight of her next words.
Her phone sat in her palm like a living thing, its screen dark but expectant. For hours, she had known she needed to call them, her parents—the people who had held her together when the world tried to shatter her before. They deserved to know. They deserved her honesty.
But how could she tell them? How could she explain that she was about to marry a man she barely knew, not out of love, but out of vengeance and survival?
She inhaled deeply, pressing the phone tight against her chest, then finally unlocked the screen and dialed the number she had memorized long ago.
---
“Skylar?” her foster mother’s warm voice filled her ear almost immediately. There was no hesitation, no pause, just the kind of love that answered on the first ring.
Her throat closed for a second. She almost broke down then and there, but she bit the inside of her cheek, forcing the tears to stay back.
“Hi, Mom.” Her voice trembled, but she smiled through it. “How are you and Dad?”
“We’re fine, sweetheart. We were about to call you, actually. You’ve been so quiet since…” Her mother’s voice trailed, cautious, as though afraid to reopen the wound. “We were worried.”
“I know,” Skylar whispered. “I’m sorry. I just needed some time to think.”
There was a pause, then the gentle sound of her foster father’s voice entering the line, steady and firm like always. “Sky, you don’t have to apologize. You’ve been through something no one should go through. We’re here, always. You know that, right?”
Her chest tightened. They always knew the right words.
“Yes,” she said softly. “That’s why I’m calling. I… I need to tell you something.”
The silence that followed was sharp, waiting.
---
“I’m still getting married,” she said, her voice clearer than she felt inside.
She heard her mother’s sharp inhale, the quick exchange of whispers between them before her father spoke again. “Skylar, sweetheart… what do you mean? With Henry?” His tone hardened around the name, almost protective.
“No,” Skylar replied quickly, her jaw tightening. Just the thought of Henry’s name soured her stomach. “Not Henry. That’s over. I would never… not after what happened.”
“Then who?” her mother pressed gently. “And why so soon? You don’t sound like yourself. Sky, talk to us. Are you being forced into something? Are you in trouble?”
Her heart stung at their worry. “No, Mom. No one’s forcing me. I promise.”
“Then explain it to us,” her father urged. “Because it doesn’t make sense that after what happened, you’d be walking into another marriage. We need to know you’re safe.”
Skylar closed her eyes, gripping the phone tighter. How could she explain without revealing everything? Without exposing Logan’s name, their contract, the revenge she was plotting? She couldn’t. Not yet.
“I can’t tell you everything right now,” she admitted. “But I need you to trust me. I know it sounds reckless. I know it’s sudden. But I’m doing this because I want to. Because I need to. And if I’m wrong—if I’m ever in danger—I’ll come to you first. You know I will.”
Her mother’s voice trembled when she spoke again. “Sweetheart, we only want you to be happy. We only want you safe. That’s all we’ve ever wanted for you.”
Skylar’s throat burned, but she forced a shaky laugh. “I know. That’s why I’m asking you for your blessing. Not for Henry. Not for a man who betrayed me. For me. For the future I’m choosing.”
The line went quiet, and she thought for a moment they would refuse. Her heart raced in her chest, each second stretching unbearably.
Finally, her father sighed, the sound heavy but not unkind. “If this is truly what you want, then you have our blessing. But remember, Skylar—you’re our daughter. If anything goes wrong, if you so much as feel the ground slipping beneath your feet, you come home. No questions asked.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks before she could stop them. “I promise,” she whispered. “I promise.”
Her mother’s voice returned, soft but tinged with worry. “We love you, Sky. That’s all that matters.”
“I love you too,” she said, her voice breaking. “Both of you. Always.”
When the call ended, Skylar sat in silence, her phone clutched in both hands, tears soaking her cheeks. Their blessing gave her strength, but their love also made her ache. She hated hiding the truth from them, but she couldn’t involve them in this war. Not yet.
---
A knock pulled her out of her thoughts. She froze, half expecting it to be the press again, but when she peeked out the window, the street was strangely calm. No flashing cameras. No shouting voices.
Her phone buzzed almost at the same time. A text from Logan.
Come to my office. Now.
Skylar wiped her face quickly, splashed cold water over her skin, and dressed in something simple yet sharp. As she walked outside, she realized with a shock that the glares, the whispers, the reporters who once camped outside her building—they were gone.
The street was quiet, the air clear.
Logan.
She didn’t need to guess twice. He had wiped her troubles away with a single move, like a chess player sweeping pieces off the board. And that alone reminded her of the power she was aligning herself with.
---
The ride to Logan’s building was surreal. She half expected heads to turn, eyes to follow her, but the city seemed indifferent to her presence again. Still, she noticed how people looked at her differently now—not with pity, but with speculation. Curiosity. Hidden questions in their eyes.
What was she up to? Who was backing her now?
The whispers were shifting, and though she couldn’t hear them, she felt their weight.
By the time she arrived at Logan’s towering office building, her heartbeat had steadied. The security guards greeted her by name without hesitation, directing her inside.
She walked through the sleek marble lobby, her heels clicking against the floor. The grandeur of it all still overwhelmed her—the glittering chandeliers, the subtle hum of power in the air, the way people moved with purpose as though this was the center of something much larger than she could yet imagine.
Logan King’s empire.
A secretary greeted her at the desk and led her to the elevator. The ride up was long, the floor numbers ticking higher until it felt like she was being lifted into another world altogether.
When the doors opened, she was ushered straight into Logan’s office.
It took her breath away all over again.
The place was enormous, sleek, with glass walls revealing the sprawl of the city below. Every detail screamed wealth and control—the dark wood desk, the leather chairs, the quiet hum of machinery somewhere in the background.
She was told to wait until his meeting ended, so she sat, her nerves tangling tighter with every passing second.
Then, finally, the door opened.
Logan walked in.
Tall, composed, immaculate in his dark suit. His presence filled the room effortlessly, commanding it without a word. His eyes landed on her, cool but sharp, assessing.
“Miss Perry,” he said with a polite nod.
“Mr. King,” she returned, her voice steadier than she felt.
He moved behind his desk, setting down the file in his hand. Then, leaning back slightly, he studied her in silence for a moment before speaking.
“You spoke to your parents.”
Skylar stiffened. “How did you—”
“I know everything that concerns you,” Logan said flatly, though not unkindly. “That’s how I protect my interests. And you, Miss Perry, are about to become one of them.”
Her heart skipped a beat, a strange mix of fear and determination tightening her chest.
This was it. No turning back.
- Writer
