Page 137 of Tangled in Vows

Her parting gift.

Not only did she leak her untrue sob story to the press, but she also unearthed records of my arrest and prison sentence. Archer was ready to take down as much as possible, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Lyndsay executed her plan perfectly, having scheduled the news to hit all major outlets and magazines, and within several hours, the coverage was everywhere. Not even Archer could make something of this magnitude disappear.

All we could do was deal with the aftermath, which we’ve been trying to do for the past few weeks.Together.

Olivia would stay locked away and out of the public eye for the rest of eternity if it were up to me, but of course, I know she would never stand for that. Not that I could truly do that to her. At least not forever.

It didn’t take long for Nisha to inform us that the execs aren’t happy with our news, but they decided to use it to their advantage as much as possible and spin it in a way that suits them—and their pockets—by making me the story’s hero instead of the villain.

In light of Lyndsay Kauffman’s recent allegations, we feel it necessary to address and be transparent about the situation. We want to start by saying Lyndsay lied to Olivia and the entire team and was hired under the name Heather Maxfield, disguising herself and purposely misleading everyone.

We want to emphasize that Miss Kauffman’s statements are entirely false and baseless. Although none of the allegations are true, they deeply harm Olivia and her husband.

Detective O’Neal has confirmed Miss Kauffman’s struggles to differentiate between reality and her distorted perception of it. It led her to incriminate herself with several offenses against Olivia over the past years, which escalated in a tragic accident shortly before her false accusations hit the news.

Miss Kaufmann is currently receiving treatment before facing legal consequences for the crimes she committed, including a murder attempt on Olivia’s husband.

Furthermore, Detective O’Neal also confirmed Mr. Roth attacked Mr. Donahue first, and Mr. Donahue merely defended himself and his wife since Mr. Roth shared plans of taking her against her will.

Olivia is in shock and heartbroken. She asks for privacy and understanding as she processes this unexpected and tragic turn of events.

I should have been relieved.And in a way, I was. But I also couldn’t forget that Olivia was scrutinized now more than ever because of it.

Hence, the caveman attitude.

Archer has been helping change the narrative online, diving into it headfirst. I think he was happy to be of help somehow. As usual, Archer is plagued by guilt because he thinks he should have known about Lyndsay. No matter how often we tell him it wasn’t his fault, it doesn’t make a difference. He’s too hard on himself, but I’m also grateful for his help in ensuring that people understand Olivia is the victim in this story. She never did anything wrong.

Of course, not all feedback has been positive. I know she sometimes sees the despicable comments people leave online, even if I wish she didn’t. Her exhaustion is more prominent on those days, especially on days she does the interviews Nisha arranged for her. And they never seem to end.

I’m tired of watching Olivia’s fake smiles as yet another interviewer asks about her former assistant and expertpredictions that Lyndsay will face a life-long prison sentence at the end of her trial.

Yup. Lyndsay survived. Not easily. And not without a ton of damage to her body, but she’s still among us.

My gaze never wavers from Olivia. When the video interview finally ends, she chuckles.

My eyebrows pull together. “What’s so funny?”

Amid this mess, my silver lining is the compromise we fought for: Olivia will only do online interviews for now. It will probably take a while before we’re ready to be around strangers again without twitching or overreacting.

Since I’m on the other side of the couch to stay out of the frame, Olivia closes the distance between us and pokes her finger into my chest. “You are.”

“I’m funny? Why?”

Another laugh leaves her lips, the sound music to my ears.

“You’re sitting there all overprotective and growly.” Her eyes shine with glee. “I could feel you glaring at the interviewer the entire time.”

I huff. I wasn’t aware I was doing that. “Well, I won’t apologize for questioning people’s motives, not after what happened. Not even online.”

She bites her lip. “It’s kinda hot.”

I open my mouth to explain myself further when her words register. “Hot?”

She climbs on my lap and whispers, “Super hot.”

I nudge her nose with mine and talk against her warm lips. “Oh yeah?”

She hums, and I devour her mouth, invading the familiar space with my tongue until we both breathe heavily.

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