Page 203 of Sinful Desires
The room fell quiet. Even they knew the mess had gone from scandal to something bigger, something no PR team could bury with a fake statement and a Vogue cover.
It had already made the national news.
Fucking hell.
“And Nicholas?…?the Oscars are tonight. I’msosorry. Everyone’s going to be talking, it’s going to ruin?—”
He stopped me, cupping my cheeks so gently I could barely stand it.
“Stop, Scar. I agreed to the PR thing too. This isn’t all on you, okay? Don’t carry it like it is.”
I looked at him, my lip trembling. “What are we gonna do?”
Nicholas didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me, his hands still on my cheeks, his jaw tight like he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
Then he let go.
Victoria shifted beside me on the bed, her voice quieter now. “Where is Théo?”
The question hit harder than I expected.
I blinked. My throat closed.
“I don’t know.”
And that terrified me.
Because what if this was the moment he finally stopped showing up?
He should have been here by now.
He always showed up. Every time I’d spiraled, every time I’d screamed or sobbed or nearly broken something, he’d been there.
But not now.
Now that the whole world had seen us, while my father was probably plotting my murder and my name was being dragged through every headline, he was nowhere in sight.
My chest tightened, and I looked away.
Had he run away?
Or worse.
Was he staying away for my sake?
Was I a liability now?
A knock on the door shattered the silence, and I froze.
“Open the door, sweetheart. It’s Caia and I.”
Alexsei.
“We even brought snacks, Scarlett!”
Caia.
I faintly waved a hand at Nicholas. “Please, let them in.”
