Page 153 of No Rings Attached
Oh God.This is all being filmed.
My stomach dropped, then steadied.
I had done nothing to be ashamed of. Celia needed to face the consequences of her actions once and for all.
She followed my gaze and her face went white. “No. No, no, no—stop filming!” She whirled toward the crew. “I saidstop!”
But they didn’t. The cameras kept rolling.
“Celia.” My voice cut through her panic. When she turned back to me, I saw it—the moment she realized she’d lost control of her own story.
I took a breath and looked at my sister—really looked at her—maybe for the first time in years. Not the golden child. Not the influencer. Not the bride. Just Celia. Small, petty, desperate Celia, who’d built her life making sure she was the sun and I was her shadow.
“I’m done,” I said simply. “I’m done covering for you. I’m done protecting you from consequences. I’m done making myself small so you can be big. You want to know what happened to us? You chose this. Every single time you chose cruelty over kindness, you chose this.”
I turned and walked back to Drew, my hands shaking but my spine straight.
I did it. I finally stood up to her.
We’d been done for a long time. I just hadn’t been strong enough to admit it until now.
Chapter Thirty-Six
ELLIE
Celia slipped out of the parlor without another word, the door closing on a breath of perfume and the soft whir of the camera crew retreating.
“Hey,” Drew said softly. He cupped my face like I was something precious, something worth protecting. “You okay?”
I nodded—too fast. Relief and shock buzzed under my skin like static. “Mostly. I didn’t realize she … felt like that.”
“You know none of this is on you, right?” His thumbs brushed the apples of my cheeks, catching moisture I hadn’t realized was still there. Traces of tears from my sister’s confession. Everything still seemed surreal, like I was watching someone else’s life unfold.
I did know.
Logically, I understood. And still, years of making myself smaller pressed at my ribs. A weight I’d carried so long I’d forgotten it was there. “Maybe I’m done trying to fit into a family that only ever had room for one daughter.”
Though part of me hopes Celia finds the strength to break free, too.
He searched my face, something flickering in his expression—fear that smoothed into determination. “Move here,” he blurted out, a smile breaking wide open across his face. “Stay. With me.”
Hope rose bright and reckless in my chest, stealing my breath. It scared me. It thrilled me. It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff, wondering if I’d fall or fly. “Do you mean that?”
God, I hate that I still needed reassurance.
The tremor in my voice was audible, but Drew didn’t flinch. He straightened, like a man about to place a bet and go all in. “Ellie Remington,” he said, voice hoarse, “I am undoubtedly, unequivocally, head-over-heels in love with you.”
The room tilted.
It wasn’t even dramatic—no choirs and no spotlights like in the movies. Just my heart cracking open neatly along a seam I hadn’t known was there. A space where our love could live. WhereIcould be loved fully, completely, without conditions.
He loves me.
He LOVES me.
My vision blurred as tears welled in my eyes. Happy ones. Joyful, overwhelming, excited ones.
I gripped his belt loops to keep myself grounded. “I am undoubtedly, unequivocally, head-over-heels in love with you, Drew Kingsley.” Words so true I felt them echo in my soul.
