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His gaze flashed greedily. “Yes, you know me, I’m—”

My fist knocked his words out of his mouth and he made a sickening crunch as he sprawled on the ground.

“I told you before. This is personal.” I grabbed his collar and let him see my teeth. “So go ahead, sue me.”

I shoved CJ on the ground, enjoying his whimper of pain as his shoulder crunched. Walden Baylark didn’t punch people. I always followed the rules, but fuck the rules when it came to Tully Hartlock. I carded my hand through my hair, mussed up the perfect locks. My knuckles ached and the pain was an anchor. I wanted to create a legacy, and I thought that came from reputation, but I’d been wrong.

It came from love.

Mine was going to span an age.

39

Tully

I stared at another headline and shook my head. It had been the same for days now.

Hartlock Harlot puts on a show.

“What decade are we in? This is giving 1800s slut shaming, right?” Beatrice fussed with my hair, looking over my shoulder. She pinned back an errant lock as I tossed the phone to the side. The mark on my shoulder pinched in protest and I winced.

“It’s desperate.” I stood up from the chair and gave myself one last look. “Predictable. And I don’t care. Let them call me whatever they want. I know who I am.”

“So do we, treasure.” Ajax piped up as he opened the door. I offered him a brief smile and slipped past.

I had been surprisingly numb since Chase attacked me. He forced me to face all my deepest fears, and I was still standing.Now I just needed the red, throbbing reminder he left on my shoulder to heal. My parents might not have meant to, but they instilled so much self-doubt in me. I couldn’t be like them, and that was a flaw. Now I saw the power of being exactly who I was.

It was liberating to embrace Tully Hartlock in all her pink, glittery facets.

“Everything is set up outside,” Lorna said. “I like this.” She fingered the collar of the glittery pink oversized blazer.

I wore a white crop top underneath and matching pink pants. Fuck it. If Starhaven wanted to slut shame me, I could face them in an outfit that felt like me.

“I’m done pretending to be someone I’m not. Done dimming my sparkle.” My lips quirked.

“Get it, girl. We’re behind you, all of us.” She tossed her head toward Baylark Pack.

Walden, Ajax, Lloyd, and Pan waited for me by the door, and Pan let out a gasp of joy as I came into view.

“Angel, you look like cotton candy perfection.”

“Pinkandglitter?” Lloyd smiled knowingly. “I love to see it.”

How long ago had it been when I explained how I stopped wearing what I wanted? Stopped doing what I wanted. Stopped existing almost.

“It was time,” I explained, as one of the tech assistants pinned a microphone to my lapel.

“You look powerful and confident,” Walden said, surprising me.

He rubbed his knuckles.

Of everyone, I thought he might dislike my outfit. It wasn’t somber, like his sisters had advised me to wear initially. It would make me seem more legitimate, they explained. But after what Chase had done to me, all I wanted was a radical acceptance of myself.

“Thank you.” I nodded, and my throat closed a little.

So much happened behind the scenes when Chase released the photos. Three Stars worked on changing the narrative, but there were still articles and articles shaming me. I hadn’t made a public statement yet. We considered using a media outlet, but ultimately, I knew what I needed to do.

Use my voice and channel. I didn’t want to put this delicate issue in someone else’s hands to twist and turn for ratings.