Page 105 of Spotlight Hearts

I press a slow kiss to the top of his head and let myself enjoy the quiet for a moment longer. I love the feeling of it. Safe. Domestic. Finally waking up in our own bubble with the whole day ahead of us, for whatever we want to do.

My phone vibrates on the nightstand, but I ignore it. No way am I moving right now. Whoever it is can wait.

It keeps buzzing.

And buzzing.

With a sigh, I reach over carefully so I don’t wake Kai and glance at the screen.

Missed calls from Tasha—six of them—and a bunch of text messages. Followed by texts from Michael and Min-ho in our group chat. I guess they can’t live without us for one day.

I swipe open the chain of texts from Tasha first, and my stomach drops.

Call me. Now. There’s been a leak of Security footage with you, Kai, and Whitney. It’s gaining traction.

I sit up slowly, detangling from Kai and leaving him sleeping on the pillow, and open the link she sent.

It’s blurry security cam footage from a neighbor’s back porch, pointed directly into our patio area. The angle is bad, but it’s clear enough. And it has sound. It shows the whole argument. And the one thing the comments and headline seem to lock onto is the fact that neither Kai or I denied our relationship being fake at one point.

Shit. Is this going to make him bolt? Can we get in front of this?

I stare at the screen, jaw tight.

Someone had recorded a private, ugly moment and turned it into content. The comments are already flooding in—some calling it “proof” that Kuca was staged all along, others speculating that Whitney was the real victim, and if it was real, that I’m a terrible person that cheated on her.

My stomach twists harder.

I set the phone down and look at Kai. He’s still asleep. I love it when he looks so relaxed, and his hair is messy. It’s a side of him that not many people get to see. He slides his hand across the spot I had been laying, searching for me even in his sleep.

I don’t want any of this to touch him, and if I could protect him from it all, I would. But I know that’s not possible.

For now, though, I slide back down next to him and pull him gently against my chest again. He makes a soft, sleepy sound and nuzzles closer, arm draping over my waist.

A few minutes later, Kai stirs, blinking awake slowly. His eyes find mine, still soft with sleep.

“Morning,” he murmurs.

“Morning,” I reply, brushing my thumb across his cheek.

He notices the tension in my shoulders right away.

“What’s wrong?”

I keep my voice even. “Security footage from last night leaked. Whitney showing up. The argument. It’s starting to spread.”

Kai goes still for a second, then exhales slowly. His hand finds mine under the sheets and laces our fingers together.

“Shit,” he says quietly.

“Yeah.” That’s the same reaction I had.

I wait for him to pull away and put distance between us, but he doesn’t. He stays where he is and brushes his thumb over the back of my hand while he thinks.

“What do you want to do?” he asks after a moment.

The question alone makes something ease inside my chest. We can do this. After facing our feelings for each other, I’m pretty sure we can face the whole world.

I squeeze his hand once.