Hope You Love Me

Chapter 36

Hope’s hands were still shaking when she pushed open the front door of her house. She knew something was wrong immediately. Lizzie and MG sat on opposite ends of the couch in silence. Her heart stopped beating, and her throat constricted.

“Where’s Landon?” she asked quietly. 

“His office.”

Hope’s shoulders relaxed. At least her stalker hadn’t gotten him - yet. She dropped her bag and knocked at the office door.

“MG, I told you -”

“It’s me.” Hope waited for a long moment. Then, the door opened. Landon looked worse than she had seen him in a long time - and that included when he found out about her affair and at his brother’s funeral. “What’s wrong?”

Landon stepped aside. “Come in.” 

Hope saw the magazine cover before Landon could say anything.

Screenwriter Kills Brothers After Wife Has Affairs With Both.

Landon’s face and his show’s logo were plastered just below that.

“No.” Hope shook her head. 

“They released this this morning,” Landon said. 

Hope felt like crying, but that wasn’t fair, was it? It was her stalker who did this to her husband. She didn’t get to cry about it. 

“How can they lie like that? Can’t you sue or something?” Hope asked finally. 

“Maybe. But the damage is already done.” Landon flipped through the pages to the actual article. He jabbed his finger at one of the final lines.

Kirby’s show has been put on hold until authorities can get this cleared up. Filming and release dates have been delayed indefinitely.

“That’s probably a lie too,” Hope said quickly. “Why would we believe anything they say?”

“That’s why I called the network. They said I’ve caused them ‘a PR nightmare.’” Landon dropped into their cushy office chair. “It’s on hold, and they don’t know if they’ll resume, even if the actual killer is caught.”

Killer. Hope took a step back. God, they were a killer now, weren’t they? And she’d still been calling them her stalker. She shook her head again.

“They can’t do that.”

“They already did.” 

Hope watched as her husband buried his face in his hands. Part of her wanted to step forward and place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. But another part of her wanted to leave. The office, the house, him, everything. She couldn’t choose one, so she just stood there. 

She stood there so long that Landon pulled himself together.

“I promised MG and Lizzie we’d have dinner,” he said, clearing his throat after the long silence. 

“I’m sure they’d understand -”

“I want to.” He stepped past her and disappeared around the corner. 

Hope’s feet felt like they were glued to the floor. She just stared at the empty space where her husband had been standing moments before.

She turned back to the magazine. A sick part of her wanted to read every word in it. To see what they knew that she didn’t. Maybe that same part of her thought Landon really was capable of doing something like that. He did have the most motive after all …

No. Hope shook her head as if she could force the thoughts out of it. Landon wasn’t a killer. He’d have no reason to try to woo her. She was already his wife. If anything, this whole thing had just brought them closer …

Something twisted in Hope’s stomach. This whole thing had brought them closer, hadn’t it? With shaking legs, she collapsed in Landon’s chair. 

Sources claim that Kirby knew of two affairs his wife was having with each of his brothers. Did the shameless betrayal drive Kirby to do the unthinkable? Did his wife’s unfaithfulness lead him to kill?

Hope pressed her knuckles against her mouth. It wasn’t possible. How could someone print these horrible things? How could they lie about her and about her husband like that? 

Her heart hammered louder and louder as she skimmed the section that talked about Rafael. They had barely made it through his funeral and this person - this evil, despicable human being - was dragging his name through the mud for a story. And Ryan. Ryan wasn’t even dead yet and they were using him to sell articles. It was sickening. 

Hope slammed the magazine down. 

“Are you okay?” 

Hope jumped, slapping a hand over her chest. 

“Sorry.” Lizzie rubbed her hands together sheepishly. 

Hope was a little breathless, but she managed out, “It’s alright.”

“Landon seemed …”

“Like he just got fucked with by some psycho killer?” Hope arched an eyebrow. Her tone was harsher than she meant, but Lizzie didn’t look offended. If anyone knew a little something about snapping at people who didn’t deserve it when you were upset, it was her. 

Lizzie sighed. She knew there wasn’t anything she could say to make Hope feel better. She just had to settle for pulling the short redhead into her arms and squeezing tight. She didn’t say a word when Hope began to shake or when tears dampened the shoulder of her t-shirt. 

Hope needed this. 

They both did.