Chapter 22
~LILY~
Sophie was already waiting when I arrived at the café, two iced coffees on the table and her phone face-up beside them like she had been refreshing something for the fast ten minutes.
She looked up as I slid into the seat across from her, expression tight with the same barely contained irritation I had been carrying since the honeymoon photos started circulating.
“You look like you haven’t slept,” she said.
“I haven’t.” I dropped my bag beside the chair. “He’s on an island with her. Taking pictures. Playing perfect husband. And I’m supposed to sit here and act like it’s okay, like life is perfect.”
Sophie pushed one of the coffees toward me. “Chase has been just as bad. He keeps looking her up like the answers are going to change if he stares long enough. I walked in on him last night going through old Monroe articles. It’s embarrassing. I hate that she seems to be affecting him more now that he’s married to me and she’s no longer in his life.”
I wrapped my hands around the cup. “Grayson barely calls. When he does, he’s distracted. Distant. Like she’ s already in his head.”
Sophie’s mouth twisted. “She has a talent for that. Inserting herself where she doesn’t belong and making everything harder than it needs to be. It wasn’t difficult stealing Chase from her but it’s proving difficult to get him to stop thinking about her.”
We sat in silence for a moment, the mutual resentment settling comfortably between us. It was almost a relief to have someone who hated the same person for different reasons.
“We need to do something,” I said finally. “I’m done waiting for him to handle it. He’s too busy protecting the arrangement and the publicity to care how this looks for me.”
Sophie leaned in. “What are you thinking?”
“We hire people.” I kept my voice low. “Accounts that already have reach. We start pushing a story that Blair forced this marriage. That she used her family’s money and connections to push me out and trap Grayson into marrying her. That she got rid of the childhood sweetheart on purpose. That she’s an awful person with no heart once she sets her eyes on something.”
Sophie’s eyes lit with immediate interest. “I still don’t believe she has any money but since she wants to pretend that she’s a billionaire, then so be it.”
“Exactly. She didn’t just end up in this marriage. She forced her way into it. She wanted Grayson, saw an opportunity and took it. People on the internet are brutal. Give them a woman with a billionaire last name and they’ll tear her apart.”
Sophie sat back, considering it with a slow smile. “It would spread fast. Especially with the honeymoon photos already out there. People love when the perfect image cracks. If we frame her as the woman who stole someone else’s future, the comments will do most of the work for us.”
“That’s the point.” I stirred the ice in my cup. “Grayson can say it’s an arrangement all he wants. Once the internet decides she’s the problem, the pressure changes. Sponsors. Fans. The league talks. She won’t look like a perfect new wife anymore.”
Sophie tapped a nail against the table. “Chase will hate it. He’s already going crazy about whether she’s really a Monroe. If her name starts getting dragged, he’ll either double down on defending her or finally see what a mess she is.”
“I don’t care what Chase does,” I said. “I car Successfully unlocked! looking at this marriage like something he just has to endure. I want him uncomfortable. I want her uncomfortable. She walked into his life, into my life, and acted like the rest of us were obstacles. I’m done being quiet about it.”
Chapter 22
Sophie studied me for a second, then nodded. “I’ll talk to a couple of people I know. Ones who already post Hockey drama and don’t care how ugly it gets as long as it gets engagement. We keep our names out of it. Just the story.”
“Good.”
She took a sip of her coffee then added, almost casually, “Has he said anything about her?
Grayson. About what she’s like when the cameras are off?”
My stomach tightened. “He says she’s difficult. That she’s pushing him on purpose. But he doesn’t talk about her the way he used to talk about things that didn’t matter. There’s importance in it now. I hate it.” Sophie made a quiet sound of agreement. “Chase gets the same look. Like he’s replaying every conversation they ever had and wondering what he missed. I told him she’s a non-issue. He didn’t look convinced.”
“They both need a reminder of who the problem is,” I said. “And it’s not us.”
Sophie lifted her cup slightly, a sharp little toast. “To getting rid of Blair.”
I tapped my cup against hers.
By the time we left the café, the outline of the plan was already solid. Hire the accounts. Feed the posts. Let the story of the spiteful Monroe daughter who forced out the childhood sweetheart take over the timeline.
By the time Grayson and Blair got back from their perfect honeymoon, the internet would already have decided who she was.
And this time, I wasn’t leaving my place in his life up to hope or patience.
I was taking it back.
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Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.