Melinda’s POV
The first article hit the tabloids three days later.
It was early—too early—and I had just set down a plate of scrambled eggs for Elijah when my phone lit up with a dozen messages at once. Buzzing. Pinging. Vibrating like something urgent had snapped loose.
I ignored it at first.
Until my assistant, Carrie, called.
She never called this early.
“Mel,” she said the second I picked up. “Have you seen it?”
My stomach dipped. “Seen what?”
“Page Six. People. Architectural Digest’s gossip blog even.” She paused. “They all say the same thing.”
I closed my eyes.
“‘Secret Heiress Architect Linked to Billionaire James O’Connor. Twins. A Sudden Romance. A Hidden Past.’”
I stood in the middle of the kitchen, phone pressed to my ear, breath caught between denial and fury. Elijah
