Chapter 413

Olivia

After leaving the bakery, I made my way back home, my heart still heavy with the unpleasant encounter with the reporters. I couldn’t seem to stop myself from replaying their intrusive questions over and over again in my mind, and the unfairness of it all gnawed at me.

As I entered our villa, I decided to send a text to Nathan to let him know what had happened. I figured that the pictures of me and some skewed story would wind up in the local tabloids sooner or later, and I preferred that he hear it from me rather than seeing it sitting on a convenience store rack.

With a sigh, I made my way inside and kicked off my shoes, then made my way over to the couch and flopped down. It was a bit strange not needing to immediately rush into ‘mom’ mode the second I walked in the door.

“Got ambushed by reporters today at the bakery,” I typed out as I leaned my head back on a pillow. “I had to leave early. If you see pictures of me online, that’s why…”

I hit send on the text and shut my eyes for a moment, replaying the whole interaction in my head one last time. The reporters’ questions had cut deep, reminding me that I was going outside the box by seeking out a job; something which, according to certain people, meant that I was a bad mother.

Almost immediately, my phone rang, and I answered to hear Nathan’s voice on the other end. “Olivia,” he said, sounding a little worried, “what happened? Is everything okay?”

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. “I’m alright, Nathan,” I reassured him. “It’s just… they treated me like it was some sort of publicity stunt, and they kept asking why I’m not at home with the children. I didn’t know what to say.”

Nathan’s voice hardened. “Those vultures have no right to harass a pregnant woman like that,” he growled. “I’ll put out a public statement, let them know they can’t disrespect my Luna like this.”

I sighed, knowing that Nathan’s protective instincts were kicking into high gear right now. “Nathan, as much as I appreciate your support, I think it’s best if we don’t escalate this any further,” I said, trying to be the voice of reason here. “I don’t want to give the tabloids any more ammunition. I’ll just be more cautious from now on.”

But Nathan’s frustration was evident in his voice as he spoke. “It’s not fair for them to go after you,” he said. “I can’t just sit around while you get bombarded by sleazy reporters.”

“I know it’s not fair,” I said, “but getting angry won’t solve anything. We’re better off just keeping our heads down and ignoring it.”

There was a brief pause on the line before Nathan sighed. “Yeah, you’re right,” he conceded. “I just hate seeing you upset like this, you know? I wish there was more I could do.”

I smiled, touched by his concern. “You’re already doing so much by helping me out more. That means the world to me.”

“I’m just doing what I should have been doing all along,” Nathan said, clearly a bit frustrated. “But you’re right, Liv. We’ll do it your way; but if they don’t let up soon, I’m saying something.”

“Deal,” I said, sitting up a bit. “Now let’s just focus on the festival, okay?”

…

As the festival day approached, I couldn’t deny the feeling of excitement and anxiety mixing in my belly. Nathan and I had worked tirelessly to ensure that the festival would be a success after so many years of it being nonexistent, and today was finally the day.

It was a cold Saturday afternoon, and we were getting ready to go to the First Snow Festival. Nathan would be doing a ribbon-cutting to open the festival, so we were getting dressed up for pictures, and were dressing Aurora and Elliot in their adorable little winter outfits.

But as we were getting the twins dressed, Nathan hmphed at his phone and furrowed his brow.

“Everything okay?” I asked as I tugged Aurora’s little white and blue snowflake-embroidered socks on. I didn’t lift my gaze from Aurora, but I could see Nathan in my periphery, scratching his head.

“Take a look for yourself,” he said with a sigh.

Nathan handed me his phone, and I saw the pictures displayed on the screen. They were from the day I had worked at the bakery, taken by one of the reporters and posted in a local tabloid magazine. It had already been a week, but I guessed that the tabloid had decided not to post the pictures immediately—which was surprising, to say the least.

I let out a sigh as I looked at the pictures. The images showed me covering my face, clearly caught off guard by the cameras.

The caption beneath the photos read, “Luna ashamed of local bakery?” along with more big red text across the bottom of the image, which read, “Where are your kids, Olivia?”

“Vultures,” I hissed, handing his phone back.

Nathan shot me with a concerned look. “The way you were covering your face makes it look worse than it really is,” he said gently.

I sighed, feeling a bit cornered by this stupid tabloid. “I was shocked and didn’t know what to do. I guess I thought they wouldn’t use the pictures if I didn’t show my face, but it turns out they just used it to twist the narrative instead.”

“They always find a way,” Nathan said. “But in the future, maybe just walk away. Otherwise it could make the bakery look bad and even lose business.”

I nodded, feeling guilty for inadvertently causing trouble for James and Petunia. But then an idea began to form in my mind.

“Hey,” I said, “the bakery has a booth at the festival, right?”

Nathan nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

“What if we do something at the festival to show that I’m not ashamed?” I suggested.

“Such as…?” Nathan asked, quirking an eyebrow as he finished buttoning Elliot’s sweater and scooped Elliot up off of the ground.

I thought for a moment longer, biting my lip as the idea began to solidify in my mind. “I can’t run away from the media forever,” I said. “We know that by now. And as the Luna, maybe I should… I don’t know, use my status to do some good.”

“Go on…”

“Well,” I continued, “I could visit the bakery’s booth and take some photos there today. Create a little good press, show people that I’m not ashamed, that I’m standing by the bakery, and that I’m proud that they’ve taken me on as an apprentice. The photographer from the ribbon-cutting will do it, won’t she?”

Nathan considered my proposal for a few moments before nodding slowly. “You know, Liv, that might actually be a good idea,” he admitted. “As long as the owners agree, it could do some good. And besides, maybe it is about time you start leaning into the press a little bit. It’s part of what a Luna does, after all.”

I nodded, scooping Aurora up and standing with a newfound determination settling in.

“What a Luna does,” I thought to myself, a slight smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

After all, I was the Luna here. And maybe it was time for me to start treating it like a blessing rather than a curse.