The World Knows Now

The cold air hit me the second I stepped outside.

Sharp. Unforgiving.

Like the universe itself was telling me I had just made a mistake.

I didn't look back.

Didn't check to see if Ethan was following.

Didn't stop to think about what walking away really meant.

I just kept moving.

One step at a time.

Because if I stopped?

If I hesitated for even a second?

I knew I would turn around.

And I couldn't.

Not this time.

I barely made it two blocks before my phone buzzed.

I pulled it out with shaking fingers.

A message.

From a number I didn't recognize.

I tapped the screen, my pulse skidding as I read the words.

Unknown: You should've left sooner.

A chill ran down my spine.

And then—

Another buzz.

A second text.

Unknown: Too late now.

My stomach dropped.

I stopped walking.

Stared at the screen.

Because suddenly, I knew.

This wasn't just about Ethan anymore.

This was about all of us.

And whatever was coming next?

The whole world was about to find out.

I turned on the nearest TV.

A bar. A window display.

I wasn't even sure where I was.

All I knew was that I needed to see it for myself.

And the second the screen flickered to life?

I wished I hadn't.

BREAKING NEWS: Criminal Allegations Surface Against Local Business Heir, Ethan Carter

I felt the world tilt.

A news anchor. A blurry image of Ethan.

And then—

Me.

My face.

Plastered across the screen.

And beneath it, the words that made my stomach turn to ice.

"Who is the woman at the center of it all?"

I staggered back.

Someone bumped into me.

Muttered something.

I didn't hear it.

I couldn't hear anything.

Because the truth?

The truth was staring back at me from every screen in the city.

I had been exposed.

My connection to Ethan.

The rumors. The whispers.

Everything we had tried to keep hidden.

It was all out now.

And there was no coming back from this.

My phone buzzed again.

I already knew who it was.

I didn't want to answer.

But I did.

I lifted it to my ear, my breath shaking.

"Ethan."

His voice was sharp. Edged with something I couldn't place.

"Where are you?"

I swallowed hard.

"Did you know?"

Silence.

Then—

"Liv—"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Of course, you did."

"Come back," Ethan said, his voice low. Urgent.

I shook my head.

"Are you kidding me?"

"You need to be somewhere safe."

I let out a sharp breath.

"I was safe, Ethan. Before you."

His silence was deafening.

And that?

That hurt more than anything else.

I glanced up.

People were staring.

Their eyes flickering between the news and me.

Recognition dawning.

The whispers starting.

I needed to move.

I needed to disappear.

But where?

There was nowhere left to hide.

Because the world knew me now.

And they weren't going to forget.

I forced myself to speak.

"Who did this?"

Ethan exhaled.

"It doesn't matter."

I clenched my jaw.

"It matters to me."

A pause.

Then—

"You need to come back," he said again, voice softer now.

Like I was already slipping through his fingers.

And maybe?

Maybe I was.

I looked around.

At the cameras.

At the screens flashing my name.

At the strangers staring at me like I was a story, not a person.

I had spent so long running from the truth.

From Ethan.

From what we had become.

But now?

There was no hiding.

No secrets.

No undoing what had already been done.

So, I made my choice.

I put the phone to my ear.

And whispered—

"I'm not coming back, Ethan."

Silence.

Then—

His voice dropped to something dark, unreadable.

"You don't mean that."

I let out a shaky breath.

"I do."

Another pause.

Then—

A single, quiet promise.

"You'll regret this."

My throat closed.

I ended the call.

And just like that—

The war had officially begun.

Liv and Ethan's secret is out—now the whole world knows.

Liv refuses to go back, but can she escape Ethan's reach?

Who leaked the story, and what do they really want?

Liv is on the run, but how far can she get?