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And then she saw the photo.

It was from the Waterfront bar last night. A zoomed-in, somewhat blurry shot of Min without her FlameThrower outfit, on Hayden’s lap. They were looking at each other, ignoring everyone nearby, his arms tight around her. It would be clear to anyone how much they wanted each other.

The article went on to list her real name, as well as to post more pictures of her actual face pulled from old social media accounts she had previously deleted. The identity she had worked so hard to keep out of the public eye was now front and center, revealed for anyone to find and google. Min couldn’t stop the tears from coming, all her hard work over the years to keep her streaming life and real life separate, all ruined in one article. Not only had they accused her of something awful, they had basically doxxed her. She would never be able to go back to simply being FlameThrower.

A thought hit her, and she poured over the article again, true fear in her until she had read it three times. There was no mention of the name of the man in the photo with her, and no whisper of DeathsHead. The pictures of his face were blurry, only recognizable if you knew him. Hayden’s identity was still a secret. At least for now.

Just then the bathroom door opened, and a freshly showered Hayden walked out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He froze when he saw her, and she wondered what look she had on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

Wordlessly, she handed him her phone and showed him the article. He read it, his eyes darkening, his jaw clenching. He zoomed in on the photo, on their smiling faces so close to each other. Min’s eyes watered at how happy they looked, even as he glared down at it.

“Who took the photo?”

“I don’t know. There were hundreds of people crammed in there.”

His eyes came to hers, a little cold, and she could feel part of her heart shrivel.

“But it had to be someone who knew you, the real you. Otherwise, they wouldn’t think to take your picture without your FlameThrower look on.”

Min shook her head. “The only people I saw there that I knew were sitting with us.”

“How many people know?” His voice was hard, and something in Min was starting to spark.

“I don’t know. A handful.” She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Hayden. I know this is your worst nightmare. I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into my mess, however inadvertently.”

“Don’t be,” he said. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have…” His voice trailed off and something inside Min went very, very still.

“Shouldn’t have what?” she asked, carefully.

He shook his head, not wanting to finish whatever that thought was. But Min could feel the implications of it in her heart.

“I need to call my lawyer and get her on this. You should call yours. We’ll need a statement from the tournament confirming that the guy in the picture does not work for them before the final round today.” Hayden was already scrolling through his contacts, clearly itching to start damage control, and he suddenly felt farther away from her than he had ever been.

“The internet won’t believe the tournament, Hayden. Not until they know your name.”

“Not happening.” His was voice hard, cutting.

Min let out an exhale, feeling everything crumbling around them, the tentative connection they had found completely destroyed in the aftermath of the false accusation.

“Okay. I’ll head to my room and call my lawyer. I’ll release a statement simply stating that you’re a… friend I met here, not employed by the tournament.”

There was an awkward pause, so awkward that she could feel her skin crawling as he slowly met her eyes. They were devoid of all the heat and affection they had built together, and Min’s heart broke at the sight.

“That would be best.”

Min turned, no longer wanting to see him, sliding into her clothes, grabbing her bag and walking out his door without either of them saying another word.

Min was proud that it wasn’t until she was in her own room, now cleaned up of the graffiti and mess, that she cried.

CHAPTER17

HAYDEN

Hayden hung up his phone, pacing through his brother’s empty restaurant while Theo slouched at a table, sipping wine. Hayden envied his calm but also hated him for it. Ever since Min had shown him the pictures of them, all over the internet no less, his anxiety had been spiraling, dark and threatening to overwhelm him. This was everything he had always worried about, what kept him up at night. He had worked damn hard for his privacy, and now he was on the verge of losing it.

Theo interrupted his panicked pacing. “What did the lawyer say?”

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