Desired by All and He Threw Away 77

Taylor’s POV 

The notification hits like a slap. 

at first its just a buzz on my phone–nothing unusual but then i see the name flashing on the screen: Ella is live.my stomach twists.for a second i just stare thumb hovering over the screen. Curiosity wins before reason can stop me. 

The moment I tap, her face fills the feed. Pale. Tear–streakerleyes rimmed red and glassy mascara bleeding into the corners.she looks like she hasnt slept in days.her hand trembles as she grips the phone too tightly the camera wobbling with every breath. 

“he forced me,” she says her voice raw and breaking. “He forced me to get pregnant.” 

The words slice through the quiet of in a private lunch room at camp like glass shattering. 

i sit up straight my heart pounding.the live chat explodes instantly–hearts angry faces a flood of comments scrolling faster than my eyes can track. 

What is she talking about? 

Who? 

oh my God.its him isnt it? 

Ella drags the back of her hand across her cheek smearing wet mascara into dark uneven streaks that trail down her face like bruises.her shoulders shake every breath catching on a sob she tries and fails to swallow. 

“he made me keep it,” she says her voice raw and trembling.” and when i when i lost the baby he didnt even care.” Her throat tightens on the next words. “He ignored me. Ignored everything.” 

her voice fractures fragile as cracked ice. “he ruined me,” she whispers barely audible. ” he took everything and left me bleeding.” 

the sound of her crying filters through my phone speaker ragged broken and unbearably real.its not just noise its pain stripped bare.the kind that makes your stomach twist and your chest ache. 

i have never heard her like this.she is falling apart in front of everyone millions of strangers watching her crumble in real time their hunger for drama feeding off her heartbreak. 

the screen blurs with motion comments exploding notifications flashing like a storm.Handles of gossip accounts, news sites, influencers–they’re all tagging, reposting, dissecting her every word. 

And then it happens. The flood begins. One name.over and over again. Aiden.my throat tightens until itshard to breathe. 

i let the phone slip from my hand. 

my hands tremble.i pace once twice trying to steady my breathing but the echo of her voice clings to me like smoke. 

i dont want to believe it not because i think she is lying but because the man shes describing doesnt match the one i know. 

by the time i gather myself enough to check again the live is over. It’s everywhere now–recorded, clipped, reposted, dissected. Millions of views. The internet has sunk its teeth in. 

somewhere across the city i know Aiden’s seeing it too. 

173 

Chapter 77 

+25 Bonus 

hours later i stand in the doorway of the penthouse.the air inside feels different tonight heavy and charged.the glow from the enormous screen on the far wall bathes the room in cold flickering light.Ella’s face fills it again frozen mid sob her words looping on repeat. 

Aiden sits on the edge of the couch motionless.his jaw is locked tight a sharp muscle ticking beneath the skin.behind him his team paces in restless circles phones pressed to their ears voices low but frantic. 

“she said what exactly?” one of them hisses. 

“Everything,” another answers. “She named him without naming him. It’s obvious.” 

Phrases like damage control, public statement, and lawyer swirl through the room like static. But Aiden doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak.his eyes stay fixed on the screen. 

the replay continues- Ella crying shaking breaking and the silence around Aiden feels deafening. 

i take a careful step closer.the room smells faintly of espresso and cold metal sharp,sterile suffocating. “Aiden,” i whisper. 

He doesn’t respond. 

then quietly he says, ” she lost the baby.” 

the words barely leave his lips but they hit with the weight of a confession.he doesnt blink as he speaks voice low and distant as if he is remembering something hes tried to forget. 

“she didnt tell anyone,” he adds almost to himself. ” she said she didnt want pity.” 

there is a tremor in his hand before he hides it in his lap.for a heartbeat i see something slip through the cracks- guilt,grief and exhaustion. Maybe all of it tangled together. 

i lower myself onto the couch beside him. ” do you want me to turn it off?” I ask softly. 

he exhales through his nose slow and unsteady. ” let them talk,” he mutters. “They always do.” 

but his eyes- his eyes tell another story.there is no steel there now no mask of control.just a man who has been stripped bare watching his world crumble one frame at a time. 

i look at him at the faint purple smudges under his eyes the way his shoulders sag even though he is trying to hold himself upright. ” you should sleep,” i murmur. 

He almost smiles. “Sleep?“his laugh is hollow. ” the internet doesnt sleep.” 

behind us the team’s chatter continues louder now- calls plans, panic disguised as strategy.i cant stand it.the noise grates against my nerves until i want to scream. 

“enough,” Aiden says suddenly his voice slicing through the air.everyone freezes.his gaze doesnt leave the screen but his tone leaves no room for argument. “Leave.” 

no one questions him.phones lower footsteps shuffle and one by one they disappear through the glass doors their whispers fading down the hallway. 

when we are finally alone the silence settles again- thick and suffocating. 

i reach for the remote turn off the screen.darkness fills the room except for the city lights spilling through the windows painting his face in shards of gold and shadow. 

for a while neither of us speaks. 

“do you believe her?” he asks quietly. 

Chacter 

+25 Bonus 

the question catches me off guard. “I…” i hesitate. “I dont know what to believe.” 

he nods almost relieved by my honesty. “good,” he says softly. “Neither do I.” 

something inside me aches at that.i want to reach for him but i dont.the air between us is fragile like touching it might make everything collapse. 

later that night i lie awake in my room the glow of my phone lighting the darkness.the live replay is everywhere- dozens of accounts reposting it captions screaming Expose and #JusticeForElla.every scroll brings a new wave of outrage new strangers calling for Aiden’s head. 

i tell myself to stop watching but i cant.my thumb moves on its own trapped in the loop.Ella’s tear streaked face fills the screen again frozen mid cry. 

“he ruined me,” she says. ” he took everything and left me bleeding.” 

i close my eyes but her voice echoes anyway. 

my mind drifts back to Aiden sitting in that dim room staring at her image like its a ghost.i saw the way his hands trembled how he couldnt look away even when it hurt.that wasnt the face of a monster.that was a man being eaten alive from the inside. 

Maybe he did make mistakes. Maybe she did too.i dont know the truth feels like a shadow shifting just beyond reach. 

but one thing i do know if the world decides to destroy him it wont stop until there’s nothing left.and i cant just stand by and watch. 

Not again. 

not this time. 

i lock my phone the screen going dark my reflection staring back at me.my heart thuds in the silence the decision already forming somewhere deep in my chest. 

ill get the truth whatever it costs. 

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