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29
MOLLY
I paced around my living room like a caged tiger, my phone glued to my hand as I waited for Jake to grace me with his presence. He'd been dodging me all day, giving me vague excuses and half-baked promises to explain everything later. Then he calls and still wouldn’t tell me what was going on other than it was about Natasha. So of course, my mind ping-ponged over worst and best-case scenarios. Even some of the best-case scenarios were not so nice. I took a deep breath trying to relinquish my negativity, but I gave up.
Just as I was about to wear a hole in my carpet from all the anxious pacing, my phone started blowing up like the Fourth of July. I glanced down, expecting to see Jake's name on the screen, but instead, I was greeted with a barrage of messages from what seemed like half the town.
"OMG, Molly, have you seen this?"
"I can't believe someone would do this to you guys!"
"Are you okay? Call me if you need anything!"
I frowned, my heart starting to race as I read through the messages. What the heck were they talking about? What could possibly have happened now?
And then I saw it. Laney posted in the group chat, with a warning that made my blood run cold.
"NSFW. It's about to get spicy!”
With trembling fingers, I tapped on the link, my stomach churning with dread. And as the page loaded, I felt the air leave my lungs in a rush.
There, splashed across the screen in all their high-definition glory, were the photos. The ones the blackmailer had been holding over our heads like the sword of Damocles. The ones that could ruin not only my and Jake's careers but obliterate our reputation.
That wasn't even the worst part. No, the worst part was that they weren't just on some seedy website or tucked away in a private email. They were on Patsy's Page, the gossip hub of Sycamore Valley, for the whole world to see.
I sank down onto the couch, my legs giving out from under me as the reality of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks. This was bad. This was really, really bad.
I scrolled through the comments, each one a dagger to my already bleeding heart. People were speculating, judging, throwing around words like "scandal" and "inappropriate" like they were confetti at a parade.
I felt sick, my head spinning as I tried to make sense of it all. Who would do this? Who would be cruel enough to expose us like this, to violate our privacy in such a public way?
Why now? What could have possibly motivated them to follow through on their threats after all this time? Hadn’t we complied?
I was still trying to process the bombshell of the leaked photos when Jake finally showed up at my door, looking like he'd been through the wringer. I ushered him inside, my heart aching at the pain and exhaustion etched on his face.
"Jake, what's going on?" I asked, leading him to the couch. "And don't give me any more of that 'I'll tell you later' nonsense. I need answers, and I need them now."
He sank down onto the cushions, his head in his hands. For a moment, I thought he might not answer, but then he took a deep, shuddering breath and looked up at me.
"Natasha's suing me for full custody of Hailey," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
I felt like I'd been sucker-punched, the air leaving my lungs in a rush. "What? How? Why?"
Jake shook his head, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "She's trying to get money from me and thought that suing for custody of Hailey would be enough to get me to take her back."
I saw red, my blood boiling with rage. How dare that woman try to take Hailey away from her father? How dare she use our relationship as a weapon to destroy their family?
But before I could voice my outrage, Jake held up a hand, his expression pained. "There's more, Mol. I... I met with Natasha today."
I stared at him, my mouth falling open in shock. "You what? Jake, why would you do that? What were you thinking?"
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I know, I know. It was stupid. But I was just so angry, so desperate to understand why she was doing this. I thought maybe if I could talk to her, reason with her..."
I softened, my anger fading into understanding. I knew how much Jake loved Hailey, how far he would go to protect her, even if it meant facing the devil herself.
"What happened?" I asked, taking his hand in mine.
"She told me the truth," he said, his voice bitter. "The custody suit, the threats, all of it... it was just a bluff. A ploy to get my attention, to make me listen to her."
