Page 114 of Love Me Again

“I don’t fucking care!”Cole shouts, livid, as he paces back and forth in his study. “I want the head of whoever this fucker was that went to press with this, do you understand me?” I watch Cole as I sit curled up on the sofa, my knees pulled to my chest. We’re a week into the trial, and someone has leaked information about my case, and the media are going nuts with it. News reporters and paparazzi were camped outside the house trying to get pictures of me.

“Tristan, we’re looking into it, but I told you as soon as it goes to court, someone would leak information about what happened to her. It was inevitable.”

"Inevitable? What the fuck do I pay you for Lucy?! It's a fucking media frenzy out there. You're the head of public relations. You were supposed to keep this under wraps. I told you to keep a tight lid on this." He shouts at Lucy—his publicist, and she watches him pace restlessly back and forth. "I want the name of the reporter who wrote the story and the publication that was bold enough to run it to be dismantled, you hear me?!" Lucy nods.

“Tristan, I will find the person responsible, but the cat is out of the bag now, and you know better than anyone that this isn’t going to just go away if we ignore it. It’s front-page news, and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing; they want to hear Shayla’s story.”

“Like fuck I'm going to let that happen. She’s suffered enough. Get a handle on this and get those fuckers off my property.” Cole growls, rubbing the back of his neck in agitation. Lucy closes her laptop and brushes her fingers through her hair before standing. I get off the sofa and walk to the office. Cole has his back turned to me, his shoulders tense as I lean against the door and look at over Lucy, who smiles apologetically at me.

“I’ll do it,” I tell her, and her perfectly shaped brows go up. Cole spins and looks at me sharply, his brows knitted together tightly. “After the trial is over, set up the interview with whoever it is you want me to share my story with, and I’ll do it.”

“Absolutely not,” Cole angrily growls as he strides over to me. “Not a snowball's chance in hell I'm letting you face those vultures.”

I sigh and look at him tiredly. “Cole, I’m going to have to live with this for the rest of my life. Am I happy it's out there? No, of course I’m not, but it’s out there now, and as Lucy said, we can’t just shove it back in the box and ignore it in hopes it goes away.”

Cole’s eyes were filled with rage before they soften a little while he looks into my own. “Shayla, listen to me. I'm going to fix this. The stories are being pulled as we speak. You don’t have to do this. They will break you apart, baby.” Cole tells me dejectedly, taking hold of my upper arms. I close my eyes, resting my hands on his chest.

“What good is pulling the story now it’s out there? People know what happened to me, Cole.” I lower my gaze. “As much as I want to crawl into a hole and never come out, I won’t. I have nothing to be ashamed of, right?” I ask him, and he shakes his head, his hands coming up to cup my face.

“Of course not, baby, but they won’t care about that, Shayla. They will dig and poke at you until you break. They’re ruthless. You know this.” Cole tries to talk me out of my decision, but deep down, he knows once I make up my mind, I’ll stick to it.

“I would rather tell my story how it happened than have them speculating and throwing false information around. Maybe if I share what happened to me, it will encourage others to do the same and not be afraid or ashamed for something they had no control over. If some good can come out of this whole nightmare, it will be worth it. I don’t want people to feel sorry for me or think I'm ashamed when I’m not.” I express. Cole exhales, closing his eyes briefly when I turn my attention to Lucy, who was watching us closely. “I want to put this behind me, and unless I give them what they want, they’ll keep chasing me around. Tell them I’ll do it, but after the trials are over.” I tell Lucy, and he nods, casting a wary look at Cole, who nods, giving in.

“For what it's worth, I think you’re exceptionally courageous, Shayla, and the world will see that too and commend you for it. You’re truly an inspiration to every person who has suffered any form of assault.” Lucy declares as she walks over and hugs me. “I admire your strength. I really do.”

“Thank you.” I offer a weak smile when she pulls away from me, and Cole dismisses her before he pulls me into his arms, his lips pressed to my forehead.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” He mumbles, kissing my forehead softly. “I thought they had a handle on this. I’ve got the right mind to fire every single one of them for being so fucking lax.” I feel the agitation thrumming through him, and I lift my gaze to his.

“You’re not firing anybody,” I say firmly. “How long could we have kept this under wraps for anyway? It was bound to come out eventually. I’ll do the interview and tell them what really happened, and we can finally put this whole mess behind us because I’m tired, Cole.” I exhale, and he nods, kissing my temple. Cole’s arms tighten around me, and I rest my head against his firm chest. “I just want to go back to enjoying my life with you and Laia.”

Cole kisses the top of my head. “Oh Shayla, I want that more than you could ever know, honey.” He affirms with a long, drawn-out sigh. I honestly couldn’t wait for some form of normalcy. So much has happened I’ve forgotten what ‘normal’ feels like anymore. I’m exhausted, and I know he is too. How much more could we possibly put up with before the strain gets too much and break us again.

I gaze up at him, and he looks into my eyes. “Always you and I, baby.” I declare lovingly, and he smiles handsomely, brushing his nose over mine affectionately.

“Always, baby.” He whispers, tucking his slender fingers under my chin and tilting my head up so he could brush a spine-tingling kiss to my waiting lips. I moan and part my lips for him to deepen the kiss, but Alaia’s cry from the baby monitor interrupts us. We pull back, and Cole chuckles, shaking his head.

“Impeccable timing as always.” He groans, watching me pull away from him to go and check on her. I look back at him once I reach the stairs, and he grins sexily, licking his lips. “I’ll be coming for that kiss, Hart.”

I smile and send him a flirtatious look. “I’ll be waiting, Hoult,” I reply and jog up the steps to check on our daughter. I walk into the nursery and pick her up from her bed. “Hi baby, how was your nap.” Alaia stops crying once I pick her up, kissing her beautiful face. She’s seven months old, and she’s growing so much every day. Her first word was Dada, for which Cole was over the moon. He cried, hearing her on the monitor while she was babbling away in her bed. Cole sat up in the bed, his hair a mess, eyes still closed. “Did she just say...Dada?” He muttered, and I looked over at the monitor to see her smiling away, calling for her Dada at 6:30 in the morning. “She just said DADA!” I laughed when he fell out of bed and ran to the nursery to pick her up.

I smile fondly, remembering how excited he was. “How about we have a bath? Would you like that, princess?” I kiss her head of dark hair and walk to the bathroom to run us a bubble bath. She’s obsessed with bubbles at the moment.

While Alaia and I were enjoying our bath, Cole wanders in and grins. “Oh, you two having a bubble party without Dada.” He crouches beside the tub and flicks a little water in Alaia’s face, and she giggles. She literally lights up whenever she sees him, and it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. “You cheeky little monkey.” Cole scoops up a handful of bubbles and places it on her head, and laughs. “Oh, that’s just precious.” He takes out his phone and snaps photos of her like the proud Daddy he is. I watch him playing with her, and my heart swells with such love. Despite all the shit that’s happened in the last year, we’re finally in a good place. Granted, we’re still not intimate other than kissing. We’ve not done anything since that whole stunt we pulled with Sophie. Cole has been so patient with me. I know he’s sexually frustrated if the ‘long’ showers he takes every morning and evening are any indication.

Cole catches me watching him, and he smiles, resting his chin on his hand that was holding on the side of the tub, and looks at me with those piercing green eyes which made something deep inside me quiver with need. I was in a daze picturing all the things I want him to do to me. “Honey.”

“Hm?”

“If you keep looking at me like that, I will not be held accountable for my actions.” He admits looking over at Alaia, playing happily with her bath toys and bubbles before he slides closer to me.

“I’ll readily take full responsibility for your actions,” I reply, holding his gaze, and he licks his full lips, a spark of desire ignites in his eyes, and I feel my lady bits flutter and throb with desire. Cole smiles and dips his hand into the water, his fingertips grazing up my stomach, which twitches under his touch. While his fingers leisurely drag up the valley between my breasts, I gasp when he circles my hardened nipple with the pad of his thumb. It’s been such a long time since I felt his touch. I felt like I would come apart there and then just by him teasing my nipples. Cole leans over and brushes a kiss to my lips, his eyes on mine.

“Later.” He promises, sucking my bottom lip before he stands, leaving me yearning desperately for his touch, his phenomenal taste. I smile when he winks and walks out of the bathroom—my entire body pulses with want. I groan and let my head fall back against the tub.

I look at Alaia, who was sitting in her chair with bubbles on her head. She lifts her big green eyes and looks at me, splashing the water, babbling excitedly, trying to tell me something. “Hey, don’t judge me. He’s hot, okay.” I grin, leaning forward and kissing her little nose, and she giggles, displaying the dimples she got from her father. She’s so freaking beautiful. “Who said you could be this cute, huh?” I smile as I wash her body. “You’re going to keep your Daddy busy chasing away all the boys that will be going crazy for you. Yes you are.” I smile as I lay her down on the bed after we were finished with our bath. Cole scowls from his position on the bed and snorts, putting his tablet down. “Boys?” He shakes his head. “No boys will get within two meters of her. I’ll make sure of it.” I watch as he crawls over to look down at her.

I laugh. “Oh, you better start preparing your little heart, honey, because whether you like it or not, she’s going to be bringing home boyfriends and going out on dates. She might even come home married one day, who knows?” I tell him with a teasing smile, and his face falls while he looks down at her.

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