The backlash didn't fade the way scandals usually do.
It dragged on all day, growing louder, uglier, sharper. Every hour, more voices joined in, like a crowd circling something wounded.
As if that wasn't enough, Lincy showed up.
She didn't come to check on me. She came to enjoy it.
She stood there with that familiar smile polite on the surface, poisonous underneath.
"Riley," she said lightly, "you married into the Hale family for status, and now look at you. Everyone's laughing. Honestly, it's humiliating to share the same name with you."
Before I could answer, Grant stepped in.
His expression was hard, disappointed in the way only a pack leader could be.
"I've warned you about your public image," he said coldly. "Now that you carry the Hale name, this kind of attention reflects on all of us. You're not even competing, yet you still managed to stir trouble."
I stared at him, stunned.
