OLIVER's POV

Seeing the mess all over the news, I wasn't sure whether to be grateful or angry at Victor's performance. I didn't want to admit it, but his words would greatly help my situation. Being the villain who kept his son a secret wasn't a rumor I wanted to be associated with. Apart from hurting us personally, it could hurt my business as well, and I couldn't afford that. Then again, if it was really Victor who leaked the information about Matt, he didn't deserve one bit of sympathy or gratitude from me.

When the first wave of anger wore off, and I had a minute to think about everything, I knew he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't call me in the morning if he did leak it to the press. But after everything that had happened between us, I couldn't silence the tiny voice in the back of my mind that was telling me it was possible. The more than fifteen missed calls from him on my phone were speaking in his favor, but hearing his voice was the last thing I wanted at the moment. I was too exhausted and mentally drained.

After the disaster in the morning, we had to stay at home the whole day, and the phone calls from my friends and family members were coming all day. Josh wasn't as lucky as me and had to leave for work one way or another. It was the first time I appreciated the fact our garage was built on our property. Thanks to that, he could leave without having the reporters bother him. The leeches weren't as stupid as one would have thought and stayed behind the fence, which made his way out easy. On the other hand, though, if they trespassed, we could have sued them, and that would be really satisfying after all the trouble they caused us.

I never understood how the people who worked for the gutter press could live with themselves. They were almost worse than the plague. Intruding into other people's private lives didn't sound like a greatly spent time.

"I'm telling you for the millionth time already, I'm fine. Exhausted, but fine. Don't worry mom," I said, hearing the rattling of keys coming from the main door. I didn't realize it was already so late, but the idea of having my fiancé back home made my exhaustion subside a little.

"I'll call you back, Josh just came home, and I need to talk to him. Love you." I hung up, springing up and running right to the entrance hall. Matty was sound asleep after being cranky all day long due to our ruined plans, and I seriously needed some time to talk this out with a person I trusted the most in the world. A person who could calm me down just by being in the same room as me.

"Hi," he said the moment our eyes met. He looked way better than I thought he would, and the relief I felt was impossible to describe with words alone. I was terrified this incident would harm our relationship because being in the public eye like this wasn't exactly a situation people desired. Moreover, Joshua liked his privacy. Having all these people watching our every step was too much to handle.

"Hi. How was your day? Please tell me this mess didn't affect your work." Waiting for him to take off his shoes, I went right for a hug. I needed to feel his warmth.

After a minute of complete silence, my heart almost stopped at his words.

"It did."

My deepest fears were coming to life, and my wild imagination wouldn't stop coming up with one terrible scenario after another. This was all negative publicity for his company. And whatever some people said, negative publicity usually did more harm than good.

I was about to pull away to look at him for some kind of a signal he wasn't blaming me for the problems when his strong arms pulled me back into a tight hug, his chest vibrating with laughter.

"My colleagues wouldn't stop asking stupid questions and making stupid jokes about me becoming a celebrity. It was hell." He chuckled, giving me a soft kiss on my head.

"Even my boss came by our office to ask if my performance from this morning was the best I could do." He pulled away from me, a child-like smile playing on his lips. He looked too satisfied for his own good, and I wanted to smack him for scaring me like that. But he managed to drive away all the negative thoughts I had, and I loved him for it. He knew me too well.

"That was evil," I whispered, smiling. All the worries flew out of my mind, and all I wanted to do at this moment was a hot shower and some quality time with my lover, preferably in bed.

"A great foreplay, don't you think?" He grinned, his eyes sparkling with emotions I knew all too well. Sometimes, he acted like a horny teenager, but as I was the same, there was nothing to complain about.

Chuckling, I shook my head and went right for a kiss.

*****

The next morning was as bad as one would have expected. After the beautiful night we spent together, just cuddling and watching an old horror movie because, by the time we got to bed, we were too exhausted to do anything else, the reality hit us like a hammer. I had to go to work today, and after a brief glance out the window, the number of reporters standing in front of our house was even greater than the day before.

I knew why. The parasites were waiting for my side of a story. But that was the last thing I wanted to do in front of my house. I knew I had to make a statement. There were way too many speculations just waiting to break out if I didn't, and I couldn't afford that. It would make everything worse. However, I needed to prepare for it. And to do that, I had to call Victor. If he wanted to play the good guy who was going to save my ass, we needed to have the same story to tell. Even one tiny inconsistency could mean failure.

"Matty's going to stay with my parents for today. I can't let him go to preschool now. Forget the kids, the reporters are capable of everything. I can't risk it." I poured us two cups of coffee and brought it over to the dining table. "And I have to call Victor. It would be better to discuss this in person, but that's impossible with the crowd outside."

Josh took a bite from his toast and nodded, his eyes still half-closed. It was still too early for him, but I had work today and he insisted on seeing me off. Crazy guy, getting up at four in the morning just for that.

"Yeah. I don't want you to stress over this more than necessary, which will happen for sure when talking to him. But whatever the truth is, and I don't get why you think it wasn't him who leaked the info, I see why you have to do it. I just hope he won't make any more trouble. We should be planning our wedding, not stressing over something like this," he grumbled, frowning at the coffee I placed in front of him. He was cute when he was this cranky, like a little kid.

Not being able to suppress the urge, I ruffled his hair playfully and gave him a peck on his unshaven cheek.

"Don't worry. I just need to find out what's going on and if he has a plan or something. The lies he told on TV tell me he does, and if that is the case, I have to see whether it's acceptable or not. I won't agree to whatever he tells me. I'm not that easy." I sat down, taking a sip from my coffee and enjoying the bitter taste. There was nothing better than a proper black coffee in the morning. And topping it off with a delicious breakfast such as eggs and bacon that was prepared by your lover was simply perfection.

"Oh, I know how persuasive you can be. I would be feeling sorry for him if he wasn't who he is. That's not what I'm worried about. Every talk you have with him reminds you of what he did and exhausts you emotionally, and I don't like that," he mumbled, still frowning.

"Not that I don't like times like that because you become extremely needy, and it gives me this feeling of superiority, which is nice considering it's usually the exact opposite," his eyes twinkled for a second, going back into its previous dark state right after.

"But I don't want to see you all down and anxious because of a guy like him." Grabbing the cup in front of him, he took a long drink, putting it down with half of the coffee gone. I was always amazed at the speed he managed to finish his drinks even if they were scorching hot. It had to be a talent or something.

I was glad he found a bit of a joking mood within himself despite the situation. And the sparks of jealousy audible in his voice were pleasant to hear as well. He didn't have a reason to be jealous, of course. He knew it. We trusted each other when it came to our relationship. And that was the reason why I was able to enjoy this moment so much. It showed how much he loved me.

"The soonest we deal with this, the soonest it will be over. And as you said, you have an opportunity to feel superior for once. Enjoy the fact I cannot live without you more, will you?" I grinned, finally getting a smile out of him as well.

"But you're right about one thing. The moment this all ends, we should seriously start planning the wedding already. Arranging it will take a while, after all, and I would like to be a Mr. Owens as soon as possible." I finished my breakfast, stood up and went to the kitchen, leaving my fiancé all alone with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

He probably didn't expect such a reaction, but he wasn't the only one who couldn't wait. And with the complications life was throwing at us at the moment, I was afraid it would take way longer than either of us planned. The best locations around here were too sought after. It was most likely fully booked until the end of the year, maybe even more.

Still, it didn't matter. Even if it took a year or two, we would get married. I couldn't imagine my life without this man, and I would never give up on the future with him.

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I worked hard! I tried my best to finish this chapter as soon as possible, and I managed. Yay!

I hope you'll enjoy reading it! At first, I wanted to include some sexy time as it's been some time since I did, but I wasn't in the right mood for that. Sorry about that, I'll try next time! ^.^

Anyway, how was it?

Any idea what the last few chapters are going to be about?

Let me know what you think! ^.^