The moment Larry and Lauren stepped out of the airport, the world exploded.
Flashes. Voices. Chaos.
Lauren barely had a second to process before she was blinded by camera flashes, the sharp shutter clicks forming a frantic rhythm against the roaring voices.
Reporters, journalists, and random bystanders crowded the exit, their phones raised, some recording, others snapping photos.
“Larry! Larry, over here!”
“Are the rumors true? Are you officially retired?”
“Do you regret leaving hockey?”
“How’s your health, Larry?”
“Is this your girlfriend?”
The questions slammed into them like a crashing wave, relentless and overwhelming.
Lauren’s heart pounded. She instinctively reached for Larry’s arm, fingers tightening as she glanced up at him.
He was stone-faced. A mask of cool indifferen
