Page 29 of Hearts of Fairlake

"I'm sure it will take a little while for things to die down completely," I admitted with a shrug. "And we'll weather that settling down process together. Neither of us has any illusions about how easy that will be. Lord knows 'retirement' can sound like blood in the water for certain sharks."

"I take it recent rumors have, in fact, found their way to your ears."

"You could say that," I said with a chuckle. "I know plenty of people have speculated that I'm retiring because of pressure from someone. Or that I'm off to rehab but don't want to admit it, which is idiotic. Everyone already knows I share a border with a bad boy image. Why would rehab look bad? And why would it require me to retire? But no, I'm content to let people run the rumor mill all they want. As you said, I'm on my way out the door, and I will close it behind me and let them whisper behind it."

"Well, I, for one, am happy for you," Gina said, and if it had been anyone else, I would have thought it was a nicety because she had an image as the sweet journalist. The thing was, she had that reputation because shewasgenuinely sweet and cared about people. "And by all accounts, your family is as well."

"It wasn't unexpected. I've been talking about it for years, so I can't say they were shocked when I made the announcement," I told her with a chuckle. "And they agree that a change in pace would be good for me. It's been no secret with them that I've been feeling a little stagnant."

That was leaving out the details to such a degree that itwas probably outright lying, but I'd been doing that for as long as I'd been famous when it came to my family. Mysisterwas happy for me, over the moon and back again, in fact. My dad had been such a nonentity in my life I doubted he even cared what any of us did, so long as he was left alone to drink, play golf, and screw around in his workshop fixing antique furniture.

No, no, it was mymotherwho was displeased, but that was an old, familiar feeling. She thought it stupid that I would 'throw away' my career, and for what? Why, the love of my life, a man who she most certainly despised with all her being. Of course, she couldn't express that dislike or do anything about it. For a woman like Celia Goner, being unable to take her dislike and fury out on someone was like depriving a gluttonous man of his meal, absolute torture.

Yet she kept in mind the threats I’d laid at her feet years ago when she tried to sabotage my relationship by threatening Grant and his older brother, Felix. For the first time, I found the motivation to do more than just spite my mother; I wanted to fight back with all I had. Of course, it would have scorched the earth if I’d been forced to follow through on my threats, but I was prepared to breathe in the smoke if she tried to call my bluff. She hadn't then and never showed signs of trying to call it now. My mother was many things, awful things in fact, but she wasn't stupid, and for the only time in my life, she had listened and believed me.

So yes, she was furious with my refusal to keep up the charade of the happy, healthy, actively working Goner family, but she knew to keep her mouth shut. Plus, as always, she had my sister and her new family to help the family's name stay in the headlines.

"Well, I think that's all the time I'm going to keep you for," Gina said with a smile. "You've been a fantastic guest, as always. Is there anything else you want to add?"

"I think that covers everything," I said, crossing my arms. "This would have been the one spot I would have chosen to bid farewell, so I'm glad you took the time to have me."

She beamed at me. “That's sweet of you, Sylas. Sweeter than before. I guess love really has changed a few things."

"Not everything, but yes, some things," I said with a wink.

"Alright," she turned toward the camera to her left. "And that covers everything. This was Sylas Goner's final, heartfelt goodbye. Be sure to see his final role in his latest and last film,Moonlit,and let's all wish him well in the next stage of his life."

"And...done," a voice rose from the back.

I let out a deep breath, flopping back in the seat. "You know, Gina, I love being here with you and all but shit, that felt like letting out the biggest breath of my life."

Gina chuckled, pushing to her feet. "You always looked so antsy when you interviewed, but this was the first time I felt you were looking for the nearest door."

I smiled as I stood up. "I meant what I said. If I was going to do a final interview, it would have been with you."

"And I meant it when I said I wish you well," she said, taking my hand and giving a light squeeze. "I admittedly would have loved a chance to meet this husband of yours, but?—"

"But there's no way in hell I’d drag him to LA to do an interview, which would be somewhere in the top five horrifying nightmares he's probably had," I said with a shake of my head. "I torture him enough just by being me."

She laughed, patting the top of my hand. "That was just the businesswoman in me thinking aloud. The woman in me says you need to get to Fairlake as soon as possible and spend the next couple of weeks locked away from the world together. Enjoy what you have, Sylas. Not many celebrities get the chance to sneak away without a lot of fuss orscandal at their back. And they certainly don't get to look forward to the quiet retirement that seems to be waiting for you."

"Tell me about it. I'm a lucky man," I grinned.

Her eyes twinkled. “You sure seem to be. Now, how long do you think I have before your mother calls in to make sure she gets to see the footage before we push it live?"

My mother's reputation with the public was pretty sparkly clean for the most part but in the industry? She was an open secret, kept secret only because Hollywood wasn't fond of stirring things up too much if they could help it. There were a lot of foul things buried under all the glamor and smiles, and if you tried to kick one thing to the surface, you risked a lot of other things coming to light as well, which most of them did not want.

"You shouldn't have to worry about that," I said with a wink. "I negotiated a long time ago that as soon as this movie was done, she could no longer touch anything of mine. It goes directly under my control without interference. I'm sure you'll find a way to remind her of that without pissing her off completely."

"Free, retired, and in love," Gina chuckled. "I'm glad. Take care of yourself, Sylas."

"You as well," I smiled as she let go of my hand and walked off, calling out for the editing team so she could look over the footage with them.

Walking out of the studio, I pulled out my phone and looked at the unread messages. There were a few from my mother, which I promptly ignored, one from Grant, telling me he’d be working late and that he loved me, and one from my sister to inform me she and her family had arrived in Fairlake safely, and one from Luke, demanding to know when my ass was going to be ready to get picked up.

Snorting, I rolled my eyes and hit the button to call him.It took three rings before he answered with a rather breathless, “Yeah?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said with a grin as I walked toward the elevator. "Did I interrupt you?"

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