The world around Kayleigh Moore was muted and her vision blurred as though she was suddenly pulled underwater. Her heart beat loudly in her ears but it was slow, weak. Definitely not enough to pump the oxygen to her brain, if any oxygen was making it through her lungs at all.

She was vaguely aware of the questions flying around her. The gasps of outrage and the whispers. Someone grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her away from the horrific photo, a futile move since the image was permanently imprinted on the back of her eyelids. But Kayleigh was numb to it all. It was as though she was watching from afar.

"What's wrong?"

The familiar, deep voice rushed her back up to the chaos that was her immediate reality. With wide, blue eyes, Kayleigh turned to Marcus, her partner in crime and the only one who could possibly understand how she was feeling.

Her heart gave a sudden strong pound and then took off like a gazelle being hunted by a pride of lions. She watched the colour drain from the man's face and his hard eyes darken as his pupils found the tabloid. Immediately, the muscles lining his sharp jaw snapped as he growled out a low curse.

Then, Abigail's commanding voice cut through the air and the world sprung back into action. "Vicky, call Marley. See if she knows anything about this. Get her on the case now!"

"Already on it, Ms Kilton," Ms Weston acknowledged, her phone already at her ear.

"Ruthless bastards," Abi tutted. "They had to wait until the invitations went out to publish something. They'll confuse everyone. Oh! I better warn Jada. The poor girl will be flooded with calls from the guests." And she strode off in the other direction as Ms Weston, fingers gliding madly over her phone.

"What is this?" Leon hissed angrily still glaring at the accusing magazines. "Marcus, I get that this publicity nonsense is all part of the show, but why is my baby sister getting dragged into it?"

Marcus shrugged his shoulders in response but his eyes were trained on Kayleigh. She felt his panic and his remorse match her own. But before she could somehow communicate with him without anyone noticing, her brother turned to her, the vein in the middle of his forehead popping. "How could you agree to something like this?" 

"Hey! Don't yell at her, alright? This isn't her fault," he defended, the anger dancing in his eyes like flames.

"Then whose fault is it?"

Kayleigh opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out. Her eyes started to sting as they instinctively turned to Marcus for help. However, they were met with soft, kind, brown eyes instead. Jack Monroe was making his way towards them, stuffing his phone into the front pocket of his dark blue trousers. She hadn't even noticed that he too had moved away to make a call.

"Kayleigh, baby, look at me," he said gently but firmly. Kayleigh inhaled and held her breath. "It's going to be fine. Okay? The Kiltons have an amazing PR agent and so do we. They're working on the case already. It's all just one big misunderstanding and it will be cleared up in no time, alright?"

Kayleigh blinked back at him. She wanted more than anything to believe him, but she couldn't for the life of her understand what was going on. Why were there so many phone calls? Why were so many people getting involved? Why weren't Jack and Abi absolutely furious? Why weren't they asking her more questions? Reasonable questions. Like what the hell was she doing in Marcus Burrows's arms on the glossy cover of a magazine?

"Jack, I," she started closing her eyes, not sure what she could possibly say to him. But Jack pulled her closer and kissed her forehead soothingly.

"Shh, don't worry," he said. "It will be fine. I promise I will make it go away." His eyes drifted to the newsstand again and the pained expression on his face broke Kayleigh's heart. "It's a horrible photo, though. I mean, if I wasn't there myself, I wouldn't know what to believe."

There? He was there?

"What do you mean?" Kay repeated confused.

"Don't you remember?" Jack asked placing his hands on his hips. "I came to pick you up from work and we went to Hyde's Park afterwards."

Kayleigh turned back to the magazine. Her brain forced her eyes away from the enamoured couple and focused on their surroundings.

"Yes, they conveniently left you and Abi out of the picture," Marcus muttered drawing Kayleigh's attention again. He snatched a copy and scanned the article quickly. Then he added bitterly, "And the fact that Kayleigh was almost run over by a bus."

"What?" Leon and Rosemary exclaimed in unison.

The two were obviously shocked but Kay was jubilant at the observation. She took the magazine from Marcus and inspected the picture again. Jack was right! The picture was taken smack in the middle of Oxford street, right after Marcus helped her up from the sidewalk.

The relief that washed over her was inexplicable. "That's right!" she yelled. "I was crossing the street and I wasn't paying attention because... because..." 

"You were freaking out about Abi's tiara," Marcus finished for her.

"Right," Kayleigh agreed, trying to hide her surprise that he remembered her excuse. "Right. And I crossed the road without looking and a bus was coming... Thank God Marcus was there. He pulled me out of the way. That must have been the moment when they took this picture."

And thank God it wasn't a moment sooner, Kayleigh thought to herself.

Leon looked from her to Marcus, the concern evident on his face. Finally, his features softened slightly. "Thanks, man," he said after a while, clapping Marcus on the shoulder. "You need to be more careful, Kayleigh. You're on your own out here and Marcus isn't always going to be around."

Kayleigh felt everyone's eyes on her, some burning into her skin more than others. "I was just distracted, Leon."

"Well, that's just it! You're always distracted," he claimed, clearly still frustrated. "You're not aware of what's going on around you."

"Leon," Marcus warned gently. But Leon didn't hear him.

"Mum and Dad are right to be so worried," he went on.

Kayleigh couldn't believe her ears. "What? It was an accident! Mum and Dad don't even know about it and I'm fine! Nobody has anything to worry about!"

"Nothing to worry about?" Leon snatched the magazine that was still in her hand and pushed it into her face. His eyes darted left and right in his red face as he hissed, "You're on the front page! How long do you think it will be before our parents find out? And what about Marcus?"

"Leon, really, it's fine. This isn't the first time something like this happened," Marcus tried again.

But Leon was seeing red.

"Did you stop to think about him?" he went on pointing in Marcus's direction. "He has a business too, you know? And he's getting married in a month! Even if Abigail and Club Rich here have the best PR in the world, this is out there! Nothing will undo what you've done! All because you're always with your head in the clouds."

Tears formed as her brother's words hit Kayleigh deeper than he could possibly imagine. She turned to look at Marcus, knowing their secret was burning him as much as it was her. But Leon was right. Nothing could reverse their reckless behaviour that night. And now, they were paying the price.

Leon stopped his shouting as Rosemary finally managed to intercept. Kayleigh heard her trying to calm him down, but she couldn't really pay attention. Her brother was still scolding her in her head, his voice echoing within the four chambers of her heart.

Jack rubbed her arms soothingly, all the while telling her it will be okay. But she was far from okay. She had messed up. It was there, obviously, blatantly written on her face. Her eyes shone with tears, shame and despair, just as they did in the photo, and Marcus took a step forward, his hands already reaching out for her despite Jack's grip on her hip.

"I'm sorry, Marcus," she said hurriedly before turning to Jack and begging him to take her away.

The man nodded in agreement, even though she saw the hesitation in his eyes. But as they turned to leave, Abigail and Ms Weston returned with grim expressions.

"Alright, Marley's on the case," Ms Weston announced. "She'll put a stopper to this so it doesn't spread further through any other websites or magazines, but there's not much that can be done about the articles that are already out."

"Did she say anything about a statement?" Abi asked. "I have an interview coming up this Tuesday. It's the perfect opportunity to explain what happened-"

"They will ask, obviously, and you'll answer," Ms Weston said curtly, raising an apologetic hand as she interrupted the heiress. "But Marley thinks the truth is actually crazier than the lie. So, if we just come up with a statement outright, people will most likely think it's a cover-up."

"Kevin said the same thing," Jack admitted, explaining who he'd been on the phone with.

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Leon demanded. "This is my little sister we're talking about. She's part of this wedding and people are going to think she's a homewrecker."

"I understand why you're upset, Mr Moore," Ms Weston replied in her usual cool demeanour. "But we cannot act rashly. Marley thinks the best way is to put the truth out there for everyone to see. With this article out, all eyes will be on us anyway this weekend, so it shouldn't take much for the paparazzi to catch on."

"What does that mean?" Rosemary asked, still looking white as a sheet behind her large, brown glasses.

"It means," Ms Weston sighed fixing Kayleigh a meaningful look, "you two lovebirds need to maximise your PDA skills."

👗👒👜

Oh my gosh! Kayleigh can't seem to catch a break. Though admittedly, things could be much worse.

So, tell me, what do you think about this turn of events?