Elena's POV
"The story's already losing steam."
The publicist slid her tablet across Damian's desk the next morning, visibly relieved, scrolling through a handful of follow-up articles that had shifted focus entirely away from the hardware store photograph and onto safer, more mundane territory… venue speculation, guest list rumors, the kind of harmless gossip that could run indefinitely without ever threatening to unravel anything real.
"Good," Damian said, though his eyes lingered on the screen longer than the good news seemed to warrant. "No other outlets picked up the photo?"
"Two mentioned it in passing, but neither pushed further. The statement did its job." She gathered her things, already moving toward the door with the satisfied efficiency of someone who considered the crisis
