A/N It happened again. Wattpad didn't send notice of yesterday's chapter. If you missed it go back one chapter.

Doyle felt like she was on trial. The only family member missing was Ivy.

"Have you been sneaking around with a chauffeur?" Amelia liked direct questions.

"He has many jobs and driving is only one of them."

"A jack of all trades."

Doyle glared at her twin. "Who's talking? You prance around in the jungle for television. Gray was a Marine in a war zone."

Philip sighed. "Enough fighting. Doyle, did you wear the cross near him?"

"No! I took it off the morning after my attack and gave it back to you."

Tate said, "This is the same man who saved you?"

"Yes. He saved me and took care of me and became my friend."

Baxter frowned. "He came into my house and we thanked him. I feel like a fool. Thanks for having sex with my sister."

"Baxter! Ivy hasn't changed you after all. You're still a prick."

"Let's act civilized. We can't change the past."

Doyle sighed. "Thank you, Mother."

Amelia nodded at her daughter. "But we can change the future. You are a beautiful girl. I'll help you find an appropriate gentleman."

"Mother, the ones you think are gentlemen aren't always. Gray is a true gentleman and I love him. I didn't need the cross to find true love."

No one responded, as they all looked at her like she had morphed into a monster. Tate, the lawyer, countered first. "Weren't you in love with the rockstar the night of your attack?"

"I was wrong. I think it was the drugs. Gray asked me to stop using, and I promised him I would, so I did. He's an amazing influence." She would try to convince them before giving them an ultimatum.

"He deserves a thank you for that, but not my daughter."

"But Daddy, I love him. I truly do. Besides, why should you care who I marry?"

"Marry!" Multiple Kanes exclaimed.

"Yes. No one pays attention to the youngest ones in families. Baxter is the king. Tate was going to marry a loser, and you paid for the wedding. I'll happily elope."

"Kanes don't elope."

Doyle rolled her eyes at her mother and her Kane rules. She stopped from reminding her she was only a Kane by marriage. "I plan to keep the Kane name." She felt hurt that Kasper wasn't helping her.

"Because you have a professional reputation, right?" She and Tate had a conversation when she hadn't planned to take Dawson as her last name.

She nodded. "I'd like to know what happened at court."

"Nothing." Kasper rolled his eyes.

"The judge called a recess." Philip added.

Tate looked at her. "The prosecution had additional evidence and there was a meeting in the judge's chambers."

"It was boring. They didn't tell us anything."

"It's because he contacted me and threatened me so I wouldn't testify."

"What?" Multiple Kanes asked, some shocked and others angry.

"He had the photos of me and Gray and threatened to tell you. Gray called his friend the detective, and he told the prosecutor. Then I received another call and you know what happened."

They talked in circles until Doyle grew frustrated and exploded. "I'm an adult. I can see anyone I want."

Amelia argued, "Not while you live under this roof."

"I can change that. I'll leave like Baxter did."

"Don't bring me into it. I can support myself. You still rely on Dad to buy your gowns."

"That's fine. I won't get any invitations." She stood and left the room.

Why did the entire family act as if they could run her life? She wanted to go to Gray's house, so she called him. No answer. She texted him to tell him she wanted to talk. When he didn't answer she called and texted again. Disregarding her promise to wait for him to call back, she broke his rules. The events of the day warranted her panic. The way Gray said goodbye contributed to her anxiety.

In her heart, she knew she loved him. Maybe just having the cross in her possession caused it to work or maybe hers was a true love like the rest of the world experienced. The flaw in her logic was Gray never said he loved her. He made her feel loved, but maybe he didn't feel the same. Humiliation coursed through her. First she threw herself at Mick and then Gray.

Through her window, she saw dusk turn into night. Although daylight ended early in January, it had been hours and Gray hadn't called. She worried he had a drink. His sobriety had been so important to him. She let tears fall without the ability to pinpoint a reason for every tear.

Doyle didn't lift her head when her door opened. She should have locked it. She felt a dip on her bed. "They've gone home."

"You didn't fight for me. You're my twin."

"How could I fight? You never told me about this guy."

"I wanted to. He's amazing and gentle and so sweet."

"The big guy in the pictures. He looks like a bodyguard or a bouncer."

"So he works out. He's healthy."

"You look like lovers. You must have slept with him."

"Yes, I slept with him. First, Jimmy found me and I had to leave him. Now this. I can't lose him."

"You mean with your bruised face?"

She nodded. "He said I was beautiful even when I looked horrific. Please be on my side."

"Doy, I'm always on your side, but are you sure it's not lust? I mean he's a big guy."

"You are too, but I don't lust after you."

"That's gross." Kasper laid down next to her.

He was tall and cut, but Gray was jacked. She never would have chosen a muscle man. "When I came to, I thought he was Adonis. Then he took care of me and shopped. He's amazing with the baby."

"He has a baby?"

"No. The Whitby's baby, Ana. He'll be an amazing father."

Kasper poked her side. "Since when have you wanted a kid?"

"Since forever. Women can do anything men can do, but men can't grow a life. It's a miracle."

Kasper didn't respond, as Doyle clutched her phone. Like in their shared crib, their heartbeats lulled the other to sleep.

Doyle woke to Kasper's arm flung across her and her phone next to her on the mattress. She picked it up to check the time. Too early. Except the hour didn't matter, because at two am, Gray texted her.

Sorry, but you need to be with someone who will make your family happy. I'm not meant for happily ever after, so the fight wouldn't be worth it. Stay out of trouble. K, you will always be my ladybug, and I'll always remember you.

Doyle looked at the words until they blurred out with tears. He didn't say he didn't love her. Always remember, he had a ladybug on his gorgeous pecs. Cracking open her chest without anesthesia might be the only thing that would hurt more than how she felt. For the first time since Gio dragged her out of the hotel room, she wanted to get high to ease the pain. A truck had hit her heart and it flew across the highway.

For days, she hid in her room without taking meals with the rest of her family. Kasper slept with her every night, but a part of her wished he had a show to run off to. Her twin was content doing nothing, while she longed for a purpose. The freedom of freelancing turned out to be a double-edged sword. She needed to work.

In the background of her grief, the trial continued to be on hold. The lawyer Philip hired updated him, and her father told her in the evening when he knocked on her door for a long hug.

She only uttered the words to Kasper and her father. "He cared too much to take me away from my family."

Maybe it was a lie, but she saved herself from the humiliation of another one-sided love affair. It also put the blame on her family. One evening, her father sat beside her.

"I've been heartbroken before. You need to leave this room. The best way to survive is to keep busy. First step is no more food trays."

"I don't see myself sneaking off to a sailboat to see Gray in thirty years."

"What?"

"I saw you. I know about Eleanor."

Philip closed his eyes. "Your mother can't know what you know."

"So she knows?"

"She knows I care for her and I'll never leave her."

"It doesn't seem fair to either woman."

"Life isn't always fair."

Doyle didn't want to love Gray, but she didn't want to stop loving him.

Philip cleared his throat. "I got a call today. The man who hurt you changed his plea to guilty of assault and battery, but not coercing the witnesses. He'll go to jail for two years. It was a better outcome than I expected. You don't have to testify. It's over."

It'll never be over. The pain she felt was worse than her bruises.

"Time to pick up the pieces." He continued to hug her for a long time. She didn't cry, probably because she ran out of tears.

After one last squeeze her father left her alone, it was only a matter of time before Kasper appeared to lie down with her for the night. Tired of the pathetic pattern, she went for a shower. As she undressed, she couldn't be sure when her last shower had been. There was no pattern to her days and she could go three days between without caring. Maybe she should care.

Under the hot water, she contemplated contacting Gray about the news. A part of her wanted to testify, so Gray would remember how he saved her. Maybe they would have gotten a glimpse of each other in the courthouse corridor.

Even in her heartache, she gave the interview to the magazine. The article, 'Living with Unhinged Rage' had to be held until Gio was no longer innocent until proven guilty, but they could release it. She gave an in-depth exposé about traveling with the band, her fling with Mick, and the manager's attack. The interview ended with a simple explanation about being saved and wanting to hide. She refused to share any details about her time at Gray's but she allowed them to publish pictures of her face.

After her shower, she went downstairs for a bowl of ice cream. She was finally out of her room.

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