Chapter 64 The Story Everyone Wants
My shoulders relax and I clear my throat, trying to play it off. “Whatever.”
“Whatever?” She repeats, looping her arms around my neck. “I bet your numbers double mine. In college you must have been the most wanted guy on campus.”
Technically, she’s not wrong.
I was.
I just never wanted any of them back.
“I was way too serious for girls,” I admit, putting my hands around her waist. “Didn’t lose my virginity till I was your age.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “No way.”
I smirk.
“Now I’m jealous,” she says, tilting her head. “Who did you lose it to? Don’t tell me it was a hooker.”
I guffaw, pulling her closer and bending to press a slow kiss to the corner of her mouth.
“Nope. But it was someone insignificant. A very persistent coursemate of mine.”
Scarlett scoffs.
“I just wanted to get it over with.”
“Hmmm. So where'd it happen?”
“The library,” I say, grinning at the memory. “I was helping her with her thesis on AI ethics, and… it kinda just happened.”
Scarlett’s eyes widen, a delighted little chuckle escaping her lips. “What? In the library?”
"Yeah," I laugh softly. “Late night. I was helping her with her thesis on AI ethics, and one thing led to another.”
Scarlett shakes her head, the small smile still plastered to her face.
I run my thumb along the line of her cheek before letting out a sigh.
“I want you to come stay with me in London,” I say softly. "Permanently".
Scarlett’s face twists in confusion at first because of the sudden subject change. But then it softens, her brown eyes staring into mine.
“After we settle in… after you’ve had time to adjust… we can go public. Or whenever you’re ready," I continue explaining. “I know you’re worried about the backlash. The looks from people who’ve only ever known you as my secretary. The gossip while you’re still working there. That’s why I said we wait until you’re ready.”
I pause for a while. “I know it’s a big step… which is why I was such a dick the last time. I knew asking you to uproot your entire life for me would be too much. I’m sorry.”
Scarlett is looking at me, the playful spark from earlier gone. In its place is something deeper.
“I need you, Scarlett,” I admit honestly, my voice rough with how serious I am. “And it's not just on weekends or video calls. I need you with me every day. But I’m not going to force it.”
The silence stretches, and it’s killing me.
“I won’t ask you to give up New York if you’re not ready,” I say, meaning every word. “I’ll wait, and I won't pressure you. I won't make any more unilateral decisions… I swear.”
Scarlett's eyes are shimmering with tears as she listens to me.
“I’ll fly back and forth as much as I need to until then. Your mum can visit anytime; I have the jet. Your friends too. Or you can go see them whenever you want. This doesn’t have to be all or nothing.”
I swallow hard. “Please say something. Your silence is killing me.”
Scarlett answers by kissing me. And when she pulls back, a touching smile is on her lips.
“Yes,” she says quietly. “I’ll come with you to London. But you have to give me some time here to sort things out and everything else.”
The amount of joy that floods through me can’t be quantified. “Yes?! Thank you!” I exclaim, lifting her off the floor and spinning her in the tiny room while she giggles and clutches my shoulders.
We’re going to have so much fun in London. More than the last time.
I’m going to spoil the hell out of this woman. I’m going to give her everything she’s ever wanted, everything she never asked for. Until she’s literally begging me to stop.
As we fall into bed together to sleep, I realise I cannot wait to get started.
I have to start planning trips and every other thing. Gloria will have to rearrange my schedule.
All Scarlett has to do is say the word when she's ready.
I sleep with a smile on my face because the future seems bright after a long period of grief and darkness.
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SCARLETT
Beverly’s call shatters the peace of the quiet morning. I clumsily fumble for my phone on the nightstand, my eyes still half-closed.
“This had better be good,” I drawl into the phone.
“Scarlett, what the hell?” Beverly’s sharp, serious voice makes me sit up fast.
“How did this happen?” She hisses into the phone. “How the hell did this get out?”
Sleep vanishes from my eyes in an instant, my pulse racing. “What? Bev, slow down… what are you talking about?”
“Girl, turn on your TV for fuck’s sake, or check your phone right now. Jesus Christ, Scarlett…”
The spot beside me in my bed is empty, the pillow still dented where Lawrence’s head had been.
His low voice drifts in from the living room.
I get out of bed and rush to the living room, where Lawrence is pacing.
He only paces that hard when something has gone very, very wrong.
When he sees me and I fire him a questioning glance, he holds a finger to his lips to hush me, then points in the direction of where my mother's bedroom is.
Yeah, no shit. I wouldn't want to wake Mum too.
Grabbing the remote, I aim it at the television, turning it on.
It takes scrolling past three news channels for me to see it.
GENIUS BILLIONAIRE LAWRENCE MOORE CAUGHT IN SCANDALOUS AFFAIR WITH EXECUTIVE SECRETARY SCARLETT THORN
I freeze where I stand, the remote slipping from my fingers and clattering onto the coffee table.
The headline screams across the bottom of the screen in bold red letters.
Above it, a crystal-clear paparazzi shot fills the frame, of Lawrence and me outside the hotel garage a few days ago. The image is slightly grainy from the low light, but there’s no mistaking us. His hand is on the small of my back.
Fuck.
I knew something felt off that day. That prickling sensation on the back of my neck. I’d brushed it off as paranoia.
I was wrong.
Another photo flashes beside it: the two of us climbing into his Maybach after stopping at the corner store yesterday to grab a few things for Mum.
“Scarlett?” Beverly’s voice sounds through the phone. I hadn’t even realised I never ended the call. “Are you still there? The internet is exploding. It’s everywhere! On every gossip site, every blog, and even the damn business channels are running it. Someone leaked photos of you two.”
I can’t speak. My throat has closed up.
My stomach is somewhere near my knees.
“Scarlett?” she presses.
“I’ll call you back,” Lawrence says tightly to whoever is on his own line. He hangs up without waiting for a reply and walks over.
“Baby…”
“Fuck,” I whisper, the word shaking as badly as my hands. “Everyone knows.”
Lawrence pulls me hard against his chest. His heart is hammering beneath my cheek. “I’ll fix it. My people are already on it, pulling the images and tracing the source.”
I pull back to look up at him. His jaw is locked, his green eyes blazing behind his glasses, but his hand on my face is gentle. “It’s too late,” I choke out, gesturing wildly at the TV. “Beverly says it’s everywhere.”
“Yeah, it is,” Beverly confirms from the phone, still on speaker. She sounds as rattled as I feel. “I’m so sorry, Scar. This is bad.”
“And shutting it down will only make people talk more,” I mutter, squeezing my eyes shut for a second. The room feels like it’s tilting. “Who the hell would even do this? Why?”
“Bloody paparazzi, most likely,” Beverly says, her voice sharp with anger. “You’d better make them pay, Mr Moore.”
“I will,” Lawrence replies firmly. “I’m going to find whoever leaked these and make sure they never work in this city or any city again.”
I bury my face back in his chest, but even that doesn’t stop the shaking.
Yesterday we were snuggled together in my bed, whispering about London and futures and going public on our terms.
Today the whole world already knows.
And I have no idea how we’re supposed to come back from this.