The love we lied about
When a leaked single threatens to end her career, pop star Rhea Santiago is forced into a PR-engineered relationship with Cole, a guarded ghostwriter secretly paying off a debt he refuses to explain. Their contract has strict rules, no real feelings, cameras only, an end date, but forced proximity turns performance into something neither of them planned for. Behind it all is Evelyn Cross, the label president’s wife, who discovered Rhea years ago and believes she still owns her success; Cole’s carefully buried past turns out to be tangled in Evelyn’s control too, and unraveling it costs both of them dearly before they can trust each other for real.
What follows is decades, not months: marriage, children shaped by the wounds Rhea and Cole carry from their own childhoods, the identity crisis of loving someone whose fame or usefulness threatens to swallow you whole, and the slow work of becoming parents neither of them had. When Cole is finally diagnosed with a terminal illness, the book’s real question comes due, not whether love can defeat death, but whether Rhea can survive losing him and still call her own life whole. She does. Not because he saved her, but because he helped her discover she could save herself.
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Chapter: Chapter Forty-Five: The Question“You’ve been weird all day,” I said, watching Cole pace the kitchen for the third time in ten minutes, phone in his pocket he kept checking without pulling out.“I’m not weird. I’m thinking.”“About what.”“Things.” He caught himself, stopping mid-step, running a hand through his hair. “The album drops next week. I’m proud of you. That’s all.”“You’re a terrible liar for someone who used to write for a living.”“I wrote true things, mostly. Lying was never my strong suit.” He crossed the kitchen, kissing my forehead quick before grabbing his jacket off the hook. “I have an errand. Back in an hour.”“An errand.”“Yes. A normal, boring errand that has nothing to do with anything.” He was already halfway out the door, and I laughed at his back, deciding not to push further, some instinct telling me whatever he was planning deserved the space to unfold on its own.He came back an hour later exactly as promised, calmer, something settled in his expression that hadn’t been there when he lef
Last Updated: 2026-09-21
Chapter: Chapter Forty-Four: The WaitingThree days passed with no word from Reyes beyond brief updates confirming the search was ongoing, and the not-knowing settled into a low, constant hum beneath everything Cole and I tried to do to keep some semblance of normal life going.“You’ve checked your email four times in the last hour,” Cole said, glancing over from where he sat with his laptop open, a blank document staring back at him that he’d been trying to fill for days.“I keep thinking something’s going to show up. A leak. A message. Something.”“Maybe nothing does show up. Maybe Marissa’s fear got ahead of the actual facts.”“You don’t believe that.”He set the laptop aside, rubbing a hand over his face. “No. I don’t. But I also don’t know what good it does either of us to sit here waiting for a disaster that might not even be real.”My phone rang before I could answer him, Reyes’s name on the screen, and both of us went still at the same instant.“We found something,” she said, without preamble. “A storage unit, regist
Last Updated: 2026-09-17
Chapter: Chapter Forty-Three: What Marissa KnewThe safe house Marissa was staying in sat two hours outside the city, plain and unremarkable, much like the one we’d hidden in months earlier. A federal agent met us at the door, checking identification even though Reyes herself had arranged the visit. Marissa looked younger than her voice had suggested on the phone, younger than Cole, though the resemblance between them was unmistakable once I saw them standing in the same room, the same careful way of watching a space before deciding it was safe. “You look just like her,” Cole said, voice thick with five years of longing finally given somewhere to land. “Mom, I mean. Around the eyes.” “So I’ve been told.” Marissa’s smile was tentative, uncertain of how much closeness either of them had earned back yet. “Thank you for coming. Both of you.” We sat in a small living room, agents positioned discreetly near the exits, and Marissa wrapped her hands around a mug of tea like she needed something to hold onto before saying what she’d ask
Last Updated: 2026-09-15
Chapter: Chapter Forty-Two: The Spotlight“Your streams are up four hundred percent since the trial ended,” Gerald’s former assistant said over the phone, though she worked for someone else now, a transition none of us had fully adjusted to yet. “People want the real story. Yours, not the fake one the label sold them months ago.”“That feels strange to hear,” I said, glancing at Cole across the kitchen. “Profiting off everything that happened.”“You’re not profiting off the trauma. You’re just finally being seen honestly instead of through some manufactured narrative.” Her voice softened slightly. “For what it’s worth, the label wants to talk about a new album. No strings this time. No fake relationships attached to marketing plans.”I thanked her, hung up, and found Cole watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite place.“Good news?” he asked.“Strange news. Good, I think. They want a new album.” I set the phone down. “What’s that look.”“Nothing.” He turned back to the coffee he was making, though the set of his shoulde
Last Updated: 2026-09-13
Chapter: Chapter Forty-One: HomeGerald’s call came three days after the sentencing, his voice quieter than I’d ever heard it, none of the authority he used to carry left in it at all. “They’re charging me,” he said, without preamble. “Obstruction, mostly. For covering up what happened at the studio. Some financial negligence too, for never catching what Evelyn was doing with the label’s money over the years.” “Gerald.” I sat down slowly, Cole moving to stand beside me, listening. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be. I earned this one honestly, unlike most of what happened to either of you.” A tired exhale. “I’m stepping down from the label. Effective immediately. My lawyer says cooperating fully might keep me out of actual prison time, but I’m losing everything else. The company. The reputation. All of it.” “What happens to the artists,” I asked. “The ones still signed.” “New management’s already being arranged. You’ll be taken care of, don’t worry about that part.” A pause, heavier than the rest. “I wanted you both to hear
Last Updated: 2026-09-12
Chapter: Chapter Forty: Ten YearsThe sentencing hearing drew more press than the trial itself, cameras lined up outside the courthouse steps despite Gerald’s best efforts to keep it quiet. Cole and I slipped in through the same side entrance as before, Reyes waiting for us just inside the doors.“Judge Ashford’s known for being tough on cases like this,” she said, walking us toward the courtroom. “Financial crimes, conspiracy, the attempted murder charge tied to the studio. I’d be surprised if she goes easy.”“Does it matter what we’d be surprised by,” Cole asked. “Or is this already decided.”“Sentencing guidelines exist for a reason, but judges have discretion within them. Today’s about making sure Ashford understands the full weight of what happened, not just what’s written in the charges.” Reyes glanced at me. “That’s part of why you’re both here. Impact statements matter.”We took our seats, and a few minutes later Evelyn was led in, still composed, still wearing that same unreadable calm she’d carried through t
Last Updated: 2026-09-10
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