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Smoke and suspicions

last update Last Updated: 2025-06-15 23:44:33

Kaiden

We left the chaos behind and walked two blocks down to a little place called Noir & Cream. Ironically fitting, considering my current emotional aesthetic.

The barista didn’t bat an eye as we walked in, and soon we were seated by the window with steaming mugs between us. I ordered a dark roast, black. He got an espresso, extra shot.

I didn’t speak at first. Just watched the swirl of steam rising from my cup.

“So…” he began, leaning back against the seat, “tell me everything. From the beginning.”

I gave him the short version, the silence from my agency, the careful manipulation of how things were framed.

And then how I’d been slowly noticing things being pulled out from under me. Public appearances canceled last-minute, endorsements dropped without explanation, my fanbase increasingly polarized because no one had said anything official in my defense.

When I finished, he rubbed a hand down his face.

“Jesus,” he muttered. “That’s not just messy. That’s evill.”

“I know,” I said qu
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