I give her a reassuring hug, feeling so proud that she was able to come to a decision on her own.

“Then it’s settled. No more secrets between us, but the world will never know. This is no one else’s business but the Masters family,” I tell the room and instantly feel like some of the heavy currents that had been filling the room dissolve around us.

This won’t be stress-free to withstand. I’m sure the coming days and months will even be painful at times, but I know without a shadow of doubt that for me, this will be the easiest hardship I could endure. I’m strong enough to handle whatever is gossiped and lied about me and my relationship with Kane. I would be able to stand tall alone, but with Kane at my side, I know there is nothing that could ever be said to tear us apart.

I know the truth.

We know the truth.

And the love that wraps that truth up in a protective bond is stronger than anything that could ever attempt to knock it down.

WE LEFT KOLE’S HOUSE NOT long after we had all agreed to Willow’s plan. I know I’m not the only one who hates this, but seeing the determination she has to not only bear this load, but also to come together in order to hold Mia up when she isn’t able to do it herself has me falling in love with her all over again.

I wasn’t kidding when I told her this wouldn’t go away. That it will get so much worse before there is even a possibility they forget about us. This is entertainment news gold.

I’ve lived this life for so long that nothing the media says fazes me anymore, but it wasn’t always like that. When I was young and impressionable, the lies they would come up with about my personal life made my desire for privacy take a backseat. I fed into every rumor, lie, and truth, giving them all of me until I had nothing left. Then I realized that they would say what they wanted regardless of my denial or verification.

They want blood, and it didn’t matter who is sliced and damaged in the process. From that moment on, I never opened my mouth to give them gasoline to build a fire. Until earlier.

But my sweet Willow has never had to deal with this.

Until recently, she couldn’t even see past the hurt a few people in her life had inflicted upon her in order to see her own beauty and worth. Their judgments, on such a small scale, had changed the way she was able to see herself. Those lies became a false reality. All because she let those judgments break her.

I’m not stupid. I know how far she’s come. She went from hiding herself from me to openly giving. She’s gone from the safety of shadows and stepped into the spotlight. All of this she did by herself, but still, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what will happen when the judgment and scorn are on a much larger scale.

She’s throwing herself to the wolves in order to protect my family and giving up her reputation in the process. She will, without my confirming that the baby isn’t mine, be labeled as the woman who broke up Kane and Mia, even though there was never a Kane and Mia to break. They will search her past for dirt. Rip apart everything about her. From how she is dressed, to her hair and makeup, and what she eats. Worst of all, knowing this was one of her biggest mental weaknesses, I know they will take the body I love and throw some bullshit label on her. They will turn her healthy, curvy, fucking perfect body and deem her unworthy because she doesn’t fit the mold that society has put on a woman.

I fucking hate this. I hate every second of what she’s suggesting. However, I also know that she’s right. It kills me to admit that even knowing what will happen. But, in order to protect my nephew, his life has to start off without the backlash that will follow if the real story of his conception was out there. This isn’t just some sordid story about me meeting another woman when my supposed girlfriend is pregnant with my child. That would be forgotten about. Hell, it happens all the fucking time. No, this is much worse. This wouldn’t be forgotten. They could milk stories out of this for years.

The supermodel who was cheated on.

The brother of Kole and Kane Masters, two widely famous names in Hollywood, being a dangerous drunk who all but raped a woman.

The ‘bastard’ child created in a drunken rage.

What my nephew would have to deal with would follow him his whole life. So like it or lump it, I know what Willow is demanding is the only way to keep him safe and allow him to live a somewhat normal life.

So yeah, this doesn’t just fucking kill me because of what could potentially hurt the woman I love. It’s a big part, but it’s not the only working piece determined to tear me in two.

My brother’s drinking problem has become something that is a danger to those around him. He has not only shamed his marriage during this, but in my eyes, no matter what Mia says, he raped her and foolishly created a life. He had been spiraling out of control long before this—to the point that I don’t even recognize him anymore. He is a monster, and in order to follow through with Willow’s plan, we would be protecting him as well as the son that he demanded Mia abort when she told him the baby was his.

“It’s going to be okay,” Willow whispers into the darkness, easing my mind as if she had been able to see inside my head while I fell apart beside her.

I give Cam a glance as he drives through the empty roads toward home before dipping my head closer to where hers has been resting against my shoulder. Making sure her ears are the only ones that can hear me.

“I know, baby,” I tell her even though I hate it. The words burn as they fall from my mouth, leaving behind a taste of pure acid.

“We’ll talk when we get home, and I’ll make sure you actually believe those words.”

I can’t help it. Even though I feel like I might physically vomit right now, leave it to Willow to strip it down and call me out.

By the time we pulled up to the gates, it was going on four in the morning. The once-crowded entrance to my house now only held a few stray reporters, which was typical in the early morning hours.

On a normal day, it is never like this. A circus that holds you locked in your own home as they swarm around. Sure, you see them around, but they don’t hunt you down like they did tonight. I know it has everything to do with the news hitting about my relationship with Willow. Because of my show earlier, it probably won’t be dying down completely for a few days.

They had never seen me act like that. Even when I didn’t hold on to my privacy with everything I had, I still didn’t confirm a relationship as I did tonight. Fuck, even with Jenn, the only other woman they had been able to confirm, I was never the one who verbalized it. I let my reps do the job for me just like with anything else big in my life; it had never really meant enough for me to put myself out there.