The storm hadn’t fully passed when morning broke—gray light seeped through thin curtains, casting the cramped room in a muted, uneasy glow. Julia woke to the sound of her phone vibrating nonstop on the nightstand. She groggily reached for it, expecting a message from Brandon, maybe even an apology or a quiet reassurance that last night hadn’t been a dream.
Instead, her screen was flooded with notifications.
Dozens. Then hundreds.
Her breath caught as she opened the first headline.
Hughes Heir Seen Rekindling Romance in Bailey Town — Small-Town Girl Clings to Fallen Prince
Pictures filled the screen—grainy, long-lens shots of her walking beside Brandon on the pier, their silhouettes too close, too familiar, too easy to twist into whatever narrative the media wanted.
Another article sc
