Page 299 of Iced Up Love: Part Two

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I exhale sharply, dragging a hand through my hair again.

“I’ll get my mother involved too,” I say. “She knows media. She can help manage this.”

Zach nods.

“That’s a better approach.”

Elijah’s gaze shifts to Lia.

“Do not get on social media,” he says quietly.

She lets out a soft breath.

“I wasn’t planning to.”

They both look at her.

“I’ve done that before,” she continues. “I don’t need to see what people are saying about me. I don’t need to read it. I know what that does.”

There’s something heavy in her voice. Something experienced. Something that doesn’t need to be explained.

“I don’t have the capacity for that again,” she adds softly.

Zach steps in closer, his hand brushing gently over her arm.

“You’re not doing this alone,” he says. “You need to remember that.”

I nod immediately.

“Yeah. We’re here. All of us.”

Elijah’s voice is quieter, but just as firm.

“No one touches you without going through us first.”

She looks between us. Something soft flickers in her expression and I feel it settle again.

That pull. That certainty.

I step closer, taking her hand, squeezing it gently.

“I’m not backing down from this,” I say quietly. “Not from you. Not from us.”

My thumb brushes over her knuckles.

“I’ll deal with it. Whatever it takes.”

There’s a pause.

“I’m going to talk to my mom,” I add. “And I might… do something myself.”

Zach glances at me.

“What kind of something?”

I hesitate for a second.

“A post. Maybe a live. Something direct.”

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