Garrett had been gone for two days, and I’d been spending all that time trying my hardest to pretend everything was just fine. Maybe if I told myself that things would return to normal when he got home, I’d actually start believing it. I ignored the insecurities that had taken root in the pit of my stomach and threw myself into work at Bernie’s, ran around with Liddy each night until she passed out, and attempted to work on my book, even though the words wouldn’t come easily. All of it was an attempt to tune out the real world.

“Uh, excuse me.”

I looked up from the register and smiled at the two young women standing across the counter from me. “Hi. What can I get you?”

“That’s totally her,” the brunette whispered to her blonde friend, elbowing her in the side. “I told you so.”

The blonde wrinkled her nose like she’d just gotten a whiff of something disgusting. “No way.”

“Totally,” the brunette continued, the two of them conversing like I wasn’t even there. “I saw her when I came in here a while back. That’s her.”

The blonde let out a snort as she rolled her eyes. “Garrett Wilder so wouldn’t go there. She’s, like, old. And not hot.”

“Excuse me?” My back shot straight at that statement for many reasons, her insult on my looks being the least of them.

“Are you the chick who went to the AMAs with Garrett Wilder?” the brunette asked eagerly.

“How did… where… I’m sorry, do I know you?” Dread prickled at my skin as I stumbled over my words.

“See?” The blonde sneered. “It’s not her. Why would he bang her when he can get someone young and hot?” That was the second time the bitch referred to me as old and ugly. I wasn’t supermodel-worthy, but I thought I was cute enough, and I was only four of five years older than the co-ed Barbies at the register.

“I’m sorry,” I said to the blonde. “Is there a problem here?”

“Yeah.” She popped the gum in her mouth and twirled a strand of her overly-processed hair around her finger. “The problem’s that you’re an old, dried-up cow who thought she could trap the hottest drummer on the planet by getting knocked up.”

“OMG!” the brunette exclaimed giddily. “How is he in bed? I bet he’s, like, a total sex god. Am I right? I’ve been trying to get into one of Civil Corruption’s parties for, like, ever. I’d totally do what you did if I got the chance. What’s more awesome than getting preggo by someone rich and famous, right?”

The floor dropped from beneath me. I had to grab hold of the countertop to stay upright when my knees buckled.

“Gwen, are you okay?” Gina’s voice sounded like it was coming from inside a tunnel as she rushed over to my side. I was so far from okay it wasn’t even funny. What the fuck was happening? How did they know about Liddy? My mind was spinning so fast, trying to come up with answers, that I barely registered Gina telling the two bimbos off.

“Yo, Tweedle-Slut and Tweedle-Skank, get the hell out. We have the right to refuse service, and you two walking STDs just got yourselves banned from Bernie’s for life.”

“Listen, bitch,” the blonde started, but the bell over the door chimed, cutting her off. I glanced up to find Ian moving in my direction, his expression as hard as rock.

“You two, out,” he ordered, pointing at the two girls. Then he growled, “Now,” when neither of them moved quick enough. That tone and his size were enough to send them running.

Once the café was clear of customers, he turned back to me. “We gotta go.”

I got my bearings enough to talk. “What the fuck is going on, Ian? Those girls said things….” I gave my head a vicious shake. “They knew things they shouldn’t know.”

“You haven’t seen it?” Gina asked, drawing my attention.

“Seen what?”

Her gaze grew sympathetic as she pulled her cell out of the pocket of her apron. “Babe, you’re all over the Internet. There’s even a hashtag. #GarrettWildersBabyMama. It’s trending.” She winced.

“What?” I shouted at the top of my lungs. I snatched the phone from her hand and started scrolling through the pictures on the site Gina had pulled up. There were countless photos of me with Garrett at the award ceremony, each and every one of them stating my name. Christ, they even had my high school yearbook photo. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Beneath half the article about me were two photos that sent chills up my spine.

I shoved the phone in Ian’s face. “How the fuck did they get these?” I demanded to know, waving the pictures of Liddy at Ian accusingly. One was of my monkey smiling up at the camera with a big chocolate-covered smile on her face as the ice cream cone in her hand melted all over the place. The second was of me holding her in my arms, both of us cheesing it up as Liddy’s birthday balloons floated in the background. “These pictures are mine. No one has copies. They’re in frames in my bedroom, for Christ’s sake!”

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Gwen, just calm down—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” I screamed. “Tell me what the fuck is going on, Ian!”

“Okay,” he sighed, rubbing one hand over the top of his head. “We don’t know who leaked it or why, but this morning a story hit with yours and Liddy’s names and pictures.”

“Oh my God.” I placed a trembling hand on my forehead. I felt like I was about to pass out.

“We’ll find out who did this, Gwen, and we’ll fix it. I promise. The article’s nothing but lies anyway.”

“Wait… what?” I turned the phone around and began reading. I’d barely gotten halfway through when one paragraph in particular made my blood run cold.

“Give me that,” Gina said, snatching the phone from my hand. “You don’t need to read that bullshit. You know as well as I do that none of that’s true. I saw how he was with you.”

I only had eyes for Ian as I cried out, “Are you fucking kidding me!”

“Gwen, like I said—”

“You know exactly who did this, Ian. And you know why! That bitch would do anything to hurt me and get her claws into Garrett!” My vision went red with rage. I wanted to find Kimber and wring her fucking neck.

“Garrett’s going to make this right. I swear.”

A hysterical laugh bubbled up from my throat. “Make it right? How? Please, tell me how he could possibly make this right? They’re saying I’m a bad mother. It’s trending, for Christ’s sake!”

He took a step closer to the counter, watching me like I was a wild animal about to escape its cage. “Look, we can discuss this more, but we need to do it later. I’ve been instructed to get you and Liddy back to the house. Garrett’s catching a flight from New York as we spea—”

“Oh God,” I breathed, interrupting him. “Liddy.”

I ran from behind the counter toward the door with Ian hot on my heels. He caught up before I made it to my car and led me to the passenger side of an SUV with tinted windows idling at the curb.

I wrung my hands in my lap and chewed anxiously on my bottom lip as Ian drove to the daycare, breaking every speed limit along the way.

“Shit,” he hissed as we pulled up along the front of the building. I followed his line of sight and noticed a crowd of people milling about on the sidewalk across the street from the daycare.

“Are those—?”

He shut the engine off and faced me full-on. “Just keep your head down and move quick, okay? Hopefully we can get in and out without them noticing.”

Of course, I couldn’t have been that lucky. It would have meant my life wasn’t one clusterfuck after another. The second my foot hit the pavement, one of the photographers spotted me. My name was being shouted as Ian hustled us into the building. I tuned it out as best I could. My main concern was for Liddy; I wanted to get her out of there as quickly as possible.

The daycare director looked flustered, and the instant she set eyes on me she had one of the teachers rush off to get Liddy from her classroom.

“I’m so sorry,” I started as I reached the front desk.

“No worries,” the kindly older woman insisted. “They’ve stayed across the street and haven’t caused any trouble so far. I’m more concerned about yours and Liddy’s safety.”

I tried for a reassuring smile but fell short of the mark. “We’ll be okay.” I pointed at Ian, who stood behind me. “I’ve brought backup.”

She nodded as Liddy came running around the corner. “Mommy!”

I pasted on a brave face for my little girl and scooped her up. “Hey, monkey! You ready to go?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Okay, baby.” I gripped her close and attempted a light tone as I said, “Hold tight. We’re going to race Ian to the car.”

She squirmed excitedly as we headed for the door. Unfortunately, a race was out of the question. The group of people that had been outside when we arrived seemed to have doubled in size. And it wasn’t just paparazzi this time. From the shouted insults and curses, I guessed some die-hard fans of Civil Corruption had gotten wind of the story and were out for blood.

“Mommy? What’s happening?” Liddy’s tiny body began to tremble as the crowd descended and started yelling.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” I soothed, holding her tighter. “It’s okay.”

“Gol- digging whore!” someone shouted.

“Is that Garrett Wilder’s child?” another person yelled.

“Here! Look here! Gwen, Liddy! Smile for the camera!”

“You’re a horrible mother!”

“Did he try to pay you off to keep you quiet?”

“Slut!”

“Tramp!”

“I hope you die, you skanky bitch!”

“You deserve to have her taken away! I hope Garrett gets full custody!”

“I had a love child with Garrett Wilder too!”

Each word was a poisonous barb slicing into my skin and drawing blood. I clutched my daughter against me as she buried her face in my neck and began to cry, frightened by everything happening around us, at the cruel words, the hate emanating from people who didn’t even know me.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I continued to whisper into Liddy’s ear as Ian got us to the SUV and managed to get the back door open. I kept her in my lap, running my hand through her hair over and over. “It’s all right, baby girl. It’s over. We’re fine.”

But while I tried to calm my terrified daughter, I couldn’t control the few tears of my own that broke loose. Anyone who ever said words didn’t hurt was a goddamned liar.

I knew for a fact, because I’d just been left gutted.