Chapter 205

Mirabelle: [I’m not telling you who to eat dinner with. Just… two photo leaks in a row? Keep your guard up next time.] Ashton: [The guy who took them is already in custody. We’ll find out who paid him.] Mirabelle: [Good.] Ashton: [Did you see what I posted on X?] Mirabelle: [Didn’t know you had an X account. Give me a moment.] Ashton waited. Then— Mirabelle: [You announced it? Publicly? Without even asking me???] Ashton sat stiff in the back seat, fingers curled tight around his phone. The screen glared back at him, the three sharp question marks lined up like little knives. She was angry. She hadn’t said it outright, but he could see it in the spacing, the punctuation. He should’ve waited. Now he understood what Dominic had tried to hint at earlier. But at the time, it had felt necessary. Urgent. He’d wanted to shut it all down. The speculation. The fake flings. The Rowan Hale shitstorm. He hadn’t thought past that one moment of impulsiveness. But now… The car eased to a stop. Gino tw