No More Pretending
396 Words
Chapter 11:
For the first time in weeks, Lena woke up without fear gnawing at her.
No tabloids.
No staged photo ops.
No lies between her and Damien.
Just sunlight.
And the echo of a kiss that hadn’t been for the cameras.
---
She met him in the kitchen, where he was burning toast like he hadn’t been raised in a mansion with five private chefs.
“I was going to bring you breakfast,” he muttered, waving at the smoke alarm with a dish towel.
She smiled. “Was this an apology toast or just a fire hazard?”
Damien looked at her over his shoulder. “Both.”
She laughed—and it hit them both how easy this felt now that the pretending was over.
---
Later that day, they met with his PR team. Everyone expected a clean breakup announcement, a formal narrative to control the damage.
Instead, Damien leaned back in his chair and said, “We’re staying together.”
You could’ve heard a pin drop.
“But the press—” someone began.
“We’ll deal with the press,” Damien cut in. “We’ll give them the truth.”
“And what truth is that?” the PR rep asked cautiously.
He looked at Lena, then back at them.
“That people make mistakes. And some of them become the best parts of your life.”
Lena’s breath caught.
---
After the meeting, they walked outside together, past the cameras, past the whispered headlines.
She took his hand.
“You sure you want this mess?”
Damien glanced at her, completely serious. “Lena, you were a mess when I met you. So was I.”
He paused.
“But if we can be messy together… I’m in.”
---
That night, he cooked for her. Real food. A little over-salted, a little undercooked—but it was his.
And afterward, as they sat on the balcony wrapped in a blanket and silence, Lena whispered something she never thought she’d say:
“I don’t want to run anymore.”
Damien turned toward her. “Then stay.”
She did.
---
But the world hadn’t forgotten about Noah.
Or the photo.
Or the truth that still hadn’t come out publicly.
And while Lena and Damien were building something real…
Someone else was quietly working to destroy it.
to be continued..............
- Writer
