Chapter 234

I would have thought that saving me from the paparazzi—and myself—would have endeared Jeffrey to Noah. He didn’t so much as thank Jeffrey for it. Instead, Noah was more focused on the bad publicity we were receiving as a couple.

“Have you seen what they’re saying?” he exclaimed as he paced his living room, scrolling through a tabloid article on his phone. “They’re insinuating that we were together before you broke up with Andrew. Can you believe that?”

Noah stopped in front of the couch, where I sat looking through the same article.

“Don’t you understand what this could do to us?” he asked. “Both of our careers rely on our reputations. This could ruin us.”

I set my phone on the arm of the couch and rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger.

“I don’t think that it’s that bad, Noah,” I said. “My business—and my reputation—has survived much worse.”

“Yes, but you always had the golden Alpha King on your side. Now, this is pinning us against him.”

“I don’t think that Andrew is against us. He wants to move on with his life, just like we do. That’s all.”

“But the paparazzi has turned it into us versus him in the public eye,” Noah insisted. He ran his hand through his hair, almost pulling strands out along the way. “We’re the bad guys, and it’s going to start showing in every aspect of our lives.”

I knew where Noah was coming from. He had seen this happen to me once already when Lisa leaked my criminal records. He was right; I had Andrew and Noah both to help me pick up the pieces back then, a luxury that I didn’t have now.

“What do you propose we do about it?” I asked. “It’s not as though we can have the articles removed. I suppose that we could ask Andrew if he could have something done about it…”

Noah shook his head emphatically.

“No, no. We shouldn’t bother him with this.”

“Why not? In a way, it’s his problem, too. I’m sure that he doesn’t need to have his name dragged through all of this.”

Noah brushed the idea aside with a wave of his hand.

“No. He has much more important issues to take care of.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. What that really meant was that he didn’t want to deal with Andrew or—worse—want me to deal with Andrew. I decided to let that little detail fall to the wayside.

“Fine. How about we hold a press conference like he does? We can give reporters our side of the story.”

“And then they’ll twist it into whatever shape fits the narrative that they’ve generated for us.”

My nose crinkled at his negativity.

“Well then, what do you suggest? We just go into hiding? Run away?”

Noah tapped his chin, as though deep in thought.

“That might not be a bad idea.”

I gaped at him.

“I was joking,” I said. “We can’t just run away or hide from our problems!”

“Now, wait just a moment. Hear me out.”

Noah sat beside me on the couch. He grabbed my hand and held it in his lap.

“I’ve heard about this other pack about two day’s drive west of here, Crescent Moon Pack. They tithe to Andrew’s pack but are otherwise politically and socially separate from it. They have their own Alpha, Beta, council, and everything.”

I bit my bottom lip as I listened to Noah’s ramblings.

“They’re a small, tight-knit community, but they open newcomers with open arms. They don’t care what’s happened in your past, so long as you’re a good person who can contribute to the pack. They take in lone wolves and outcasts all the time.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and did not look Noah in the eye.

“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this,” I said.

“I’ll admit, I’ve been looking into Crescent Moon Pack for a while now,” Noah mumbled, as though embarrassed to admit this. More loudly, he added, “I think that now is the perfect time for us to make the move.”

I rubbed my neck again, unsure of how to respond.

“I don’t know, Noah…”

“What’s there to know? The paparazzi here is determined to make our lives Hell—” mostly my life, but I let that fact slide— “and we have nothing to really tie us to this pack—”

“Nothing to tie us to this pack? Our careers are rooted here! Our friends and your family are here!”

Noah grabbed my free hand and squeezed both of them tightly. He stared me straight in the eye.

“These rumors are going to destroy our reputation,” he said. “Then our careers will be ruined. Our relationships won’t be far behind.”

I opened my mouth to object, thinking about Lily and Terri. They had been with me through thick and thin, and I doubted that they would abandon me now. Then again, I had never been accused of cheating on a high-profile political figure before…

My mouth snapped shut.

Tears gathered at the edges of my eyes.

“I can’t do it again,” I whispered.

Noah’s brow furrowed. He leaned forward, as though to hear me better.

“Do what again?”

“Start over.”

I took a deep breath and wiped the tears away from my eyes. Damn it, I was tired of crying.

“I had to start my life all over after I got out of prison,” I explained. “Even though I had people to help me, it was still a huge emotional toll on me, especially in the beginning.”

Noah’s eyes widened in understanding.

“Was that when Bob…?”

I nodded.

“I don’t want to go through that again, especially not without my support group.”

I stared down at the inch of couch separating us. Noah ran his thumbs over the back of my hands.

“Crystal,” he said, his tone uncharacteristically firm, “look at me.”

Reluctantly, I lifted my head and glanced up at him. He held my gaze steadily.

“You won’t be doing it alone,” he continued. “I’ll be there with you.”

I smiled slightly, though it wavered.

“I know. I can always depend on you.”

Noah reached up and stroked my cheek gently.

“Tell me, what do you have left to possibly tie you to this pack?”

My mind drifted past the usual suspects—my friends, Ever After Weddings—and to Andrew. It felt as though an arrow had pierced my heart. I could not let myself think like that anymore.

Andrew had moved on, and so should I.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I suppose nothing.”

I sighed.

“All right. I’m still not sure if moving to another pack is the right move, but I’ll keep the option open.”

Noah arched his brow at me.

“That’s the best that I’m going to get, isn’t it?”

I tilted my head at him and brushed his hair back off his forehead.

“Please be patient. I said that I’ll consider it.”

Noah smiled, distracted by my touch.

“Of course. That’s all that I can ask for. Thank you, my love.”

He kissed me gently on the lips. I reciprocated, but my heart wasn’t in it. It was frozen by the thought of leaving Andrew and everything that I had built in his pack behind—forever.