No Longer Yours to Break novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Zoe finally steadied herself and grabbed Lucian’s hand.

“It’s Con… Connor. Check on Connor.”

Lucian froze. No questions. Just called it in, alerting his team right away.

Zoe wiped the sweat from her forehead, forcing a small, shaky smile at him.

Then her phone rang.

An unfamiliar number lit up the screen.

She stared at it, heart slamming in her chest. For a second, it felt like she’d been yanked straight back into her worst memories.

Her hand shook as she went to hang up-

But her finger slipped. ‘Answer.‘

She flinched, eyes squeezed shut.

Then came the voice. Too familiar.

“Zoe, did you see what’s going around on social media?”

Connor.

The second she heard his voice, something snapped.

Rage exploded in her chest, fueled by everything she’d buried–both lives worth of pain.

She screamed into the phone.

“Connor Buxton! Why are you doing this to me?! You said you loved Vicky–I gave up EVERYTHING for your so–called true love! I didn’t want anything anymore! I left for Khelmark just to disappear–why won’t you leave me alone?!”

Her voice cracked, raw and shaking by the end.

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But Connor sounded… confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Then, sharper-

“You think I posted those photos?”

His voice tightened, anger barely held back. “I messed up. I know that. I loved the wrong person, hurt the one who actually mattered. That’s on me.

“But I swear–if I had ANYTHING to do with this, even a little–may I walk out this door and get hit by a car!”

His denial came hard and fast.

And slowly, Zoe’s breathing began to steady.

Connor’s shock felt real. So did the anger in his voice.

And he was never the type to lie, not like this.

If he had done it, he would’ve shown up just to watch her break.

Then Lucian’s phone buzzed.

His assistant’s voice came through, tense.

“Mr. Lyttelton, we confirmed it. The IP doesn’t match the person you sent.”

Silence.

Lucian’s voice was low. “Then who was it?”

A pause.

“It’s… someone from the Camorra family.”

Lucian’s expression darkened fast.

The Camorras were like cockroaches–no matter how hard you stomped, they kept crawling back.

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Now they were cornered, and this was how they chose to fight? Drag the Lytteltons through the mud with them?

Cheap. Filthy.

Zoe had gone quiet. Composed again.

She ended the call with Connor, then closed her eyes–carefully replaying every image burned into her mind.

Something didn’t sit right.

In her past life, the photos Connor leaked were real–taken when they were still together.

But this time? Every image was solo.

And Zoe knew for sure she’d never taken anything like that.

Which could only mean one thing-

Lucian’s assistant kept talking.

“Our tech team ran checks. The photos are deepfakes. Someone used AI to map Mrs. Lyttelton’s face onto low–tier magazine models. The forensic report’s almost done… but shifting public opinion will take time.”

Lucian rubbed his temples, guilt weighing on him.

“I’m sorry. This happened because of me. The Camorra family did this to get at me.”

Zoe glanced at his eyes–tired, worn from days without rest, still flushed from rushing back to her.

And yet… he’d never once doubted her. Not even before the truth came out.

Her heart squeezed. She reached up, brushing her fingers against his cheek.

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“…You really don’t care?”

Lucian paused, then frowned, clearly annoyed.

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“Care about what? Those photos? Not a chance. It’s obvious they’re fake. Only people who don’t know you–or want to hurt you–would even take them seriously.”

Warmth bloomed in her chest.

Right. It was all just noise.

Only the ones who wanted to tear her down would cling to lies like that.

Why should she carry their poison?

She melted into his arms, the weight on her chest finally starting to lift. A smile tugged at her lips.

“At this rate, when are we ever gonna start our honeymoon?”

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