Page 109 of Guarded Love

She fills her glass in silence, then glances sideways at me. “You look like you’re about to interrogate that six-pack,” she says, voice just above a whisper.

She’s not wrong, but I don’t give her the satisfaction of a smile. “Trying to decide if it deserves to live,” I say, grabbing a random bottle and popping the cap.

She leans against the counter and looks at me with her eyebrows raised. “You going to ask what I’m doing here, or just keep pretending you weren’t surprised?”

I risk a look and I don’t regret it. She’s so fucking beautiful. “You’re allowed to hang out here. Your brother lives here after all.”

She snorts. “I avoid this house like it gives me hives. You know that.”

“So is this some kind of punishment? Are you putting up with my presence as some sort of penance?” I toss out without taking a beat to think about it.

Instead of answering right away, Willow takes a sip of her water before her eyes land on me. “Or maybe Selene guilt-tripped me into it. Jury's still out."

"I'm shocked Selene got you to do anything," I admit. "Isn't she on your list of mortal enemies?"

“You're thinking of Hailey. Selene's just…exhausting, not an enemy. We can file Ari under that as well."

There's a moment where neither of us says anything and then we both start laughing. When we sober up, Willow clears herthroat and says, “I really came back here to talk to you about something. It’s a pretty big deal to me.”

That makes me pause for a second because I don’t know where this could be going. I turn to her to give her my full and undivided attention. “What’s up?”

“You ever get a message from someone you thought you’d erased from your head forever?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Not my favorite experience.”

“Me neither. Except this wasn’t Leo.” She sets her glass down with more force than necessary. “It was someone he’s dating. Or was. Or…I don’t know, maybe in his head he’s dating her and she’s just another girl he’s screwing over.”

“What did she want?”

“Answers, I guess? She found me through some mutuals, and to be honest I’m not sure how. She asked for the tea on Leo. Kept it low-key at first, like she was looking for tips on how to manage his bullshit.” Willow looks up at the ceiling before she looked back at me. “But then she said he’d started doing stuff. Scary stuff. She wanted to know if…if it was something to worry about. Which I quickly told her yes that’s scary as hell.”

“What did she say?” I feel my anger starting to grow and I know my reaction depends on what she shares next.

“She said it started out normal,” Willow begins but I notice the shift when she sighs, “but then he got weird. Like, sending messages all hours, pushing her to send stuff she wasn’t comfortable with. The texts got more explicit.” Her fingers drum against the countertop, restless. “Kept asking if she was talking to other guys, even though they weren’t actually dating. He’d say really nice shit in public, but then he’d turn around and pick her apart in private. Make her apologize for things that were literally not her fault. He’s refined the technique since high school, I guess.”

Something in me snaps because I realize I can’t let her continue this story without me at least holding her. I don’t care if anyone walks in on us at this point. Let ‘em. I appreciate that she is trusting me with this and in this moment, I know she needs me more than any explanation I would give about what’s happening between us.

"I'm sorry," I say as I set the beer down and close the gap between us. I pull her into my arms and she doesn't move away. Her eyes dart to the side, then back to me, as if she's trying to forecast the outcome a thousand possible ways before picking one.

“Yeah.” She shakes her head. “The thing that got me was how much her messages sounded like mine. Like, the same phrases. The same—” She bites the inside of her cheek. “He’s got a playbook. He just tweaks it for whoever he’s with.” She swallows, and for a second I see every wall she’s ever built trembling.

“So what did you do?” I ask, forcing my anger to stay flat and steady. All that matters is her. Not the urge to hunt Leo down and break his fucking face.

Willow’s foot bounces, barely making a sound against the tile. The only reason I know she’s doing it is because I feel her body shake against mine. “I told her to get out. Run, block his number, whatever it takes because that was me. I see what I went through in her. Questioning whether this was bad or not because other guys did way worst things. Leo just made me cry every couple days and gaslit me into thinking it was normal. Or would threaten to leak everything he knew about me online.”

“You know it wasn’t your fault, right? You know that, Wills.”

“I know. Intellectually.” She shrugs. “Emotional reality is trickier. What I also know is that he can’t keep getting away with this. He gets to act like a shitty person in private but the world’s golden boy in public and it’s not right.”

"You're right. He shouldn't get to keep his reputation while he's destroying people behind closed doors." I run my thumb along her shoulder, hoping to relieve the tension there. "What if you went to his management team? His sponsors? I’m sure they wouldn’t want someone like him representing them."

Her head tilts up to look at me. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Leo's whole brand is built on being this wholesome gaming influencer, right? Family-friendly content, positive role model bullshit. If his management knew he was harassing women, sending explicit messages, threatening to leak personal information..." I pause, watching her process this. "That's not just morally fucked up, it's a liability. Sponsors don't want to be associated with that kind of scandal."

Willow's eyes widen slightly. "You think they'd actually care?"

"Money talks. And right now, Leo makes them money because people think he's a good guy. But if that image gets shattered publicly, he becomes a risk they can't afford." I shift so I can see her face better. "The woman who contacted you, if she's willing to speak up, and you're willing to back her up with your own experience..."

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