I grip the remote in my hand -- I want to break it. The news on TV is exposing Luna as a drug addict. The pictures that Rory has sent to some websites -- mainly run by the paparazzi -- travel fast, especially on the news channel competing with her father's.
I don't even want to see what happens in social media, because that's where the fuel is added. Once people start to post and comment, word of mouth will do the work, and then it goes viral.
"Luna Klein, daughter of Lucas and Cassandra Klein, was found at a drug party in Paris, consuming cocaine, crack cocaine, amphetamines, and ecstasy," the newscaster says. "The source believed that those were just a few of the drugs commonly used in the party, which was apparently exclusive for high-class socialites. It is suspected that many drug dealers were present, and that Luna Klein is a regular, or in another word, an addict. This issue has once again raised people's concern regarding the rise of drug misuse impacting teens... "
When the pictures show up, I feel like destroying everything. Seeing Luna in such a vulnerable condition kills me.
I was in one of the pictures too, but people don't recognize me. Even if they did, they wouldn't care about some random guy -- the world's focus is on Luna Klein.
People always try to find something to talk about the famous Kleins.
However, Mom would notice me wearing that hoodie she bought for me in Australia, and there's no way that Dad wouldn't recognize me -- he just fucking knows everything, fucking alert of everything.
Sienna, who's sitting on the couch, watches the TV with a face as pale as a white paper. I can even see the tears brimming her eyes -- she's damn scared, confused, and shocked.
I turn to look at my parents, who are staring at me like I just shot them in the head. Mom covers her mouth with her shaking hands.
"Is it true?" is the first question that leaves Dad's mouth. His voice is menacing but stable. He's not judging me. "Is what we're seeing true, Max?"
Their expression tells me that they would die if it were true. Clearly, they have never thought that their son would be doing drugs or being close to a druggie.
"No, it's not," I say firmly. "It's not true. It's all a trap. She was tricked and trapped by some cunning folks." My voice is shaking -- I can't control my anger.
Those pictures have unleashed the rage inside me.
"Trapped?" Mom's voice is barely a whisper.
"Yes, they led them to the wrong party and put shit into her drink." My jaw tightens as I remember what they've done to her, and I feel stupid because I couldn't prevent that. "Then they drugged her. If I hadn't come to rescue her, she would have--" My words are cut short as I let out a soft cry, raking my fingers through my hair and cursing at myself.
When I look up to see my parents again, Mom's eyes are filled with tears. She shakes her head in denial.
"She was blackmailed by some psychotic bastard, but that fucking piece of trash spread the pictures nonetheless." My fist is shaking as I ball it on my side.
Mom and Dad don't even comment on my choice of language.
"She was---" Mom stutters, as though she's thinking about something horrible that has happened in the past. She finally bursts into tears, and Dad pulls her into a hug, soothing her. He then kisses the top of her head.
The way Mom cries for Luna shows how this incident shatters her heart too. Her shoulders are shaking as Dad hugs her.
"What are you going to do now, Max?" Dad asks, his eyes holding something meaningful behind them, as though he's challenging me. "Are you going to leave her?"
My heart freezes in place. Leave her? That thought has never crossed my mind even just for a second, even when everything went wrong.
Yet, Dad reminds me that this is not going to be easy, that we have to face the world as a consequence. And this isn't only about me and Luna -- this is about our families too.
"No, I'm not going to leave her," I say without a doubt. I'm going to stay by her side, no matter what happens.
Dad stares at me, studying my expression as his eyes soften. "Then you know what to do."
The thing I fear the most finally happens. Here I am, surrounded by my family in the living room. I'm sitting on the couch, staring down at my lap, my shoulders shaking as I hold back my sobs.
My family, however, can't just sit still, especially Mom and Aiden, whose emotions are all over the place.
Dad still sits on the couch, facing me, but his eyes are dark. I've never been afraid of Dad, but now I am. He's silent, but the aura surrounding him is lethal.
Mom paces back and forth, her tears rolling down her cheeks. "How could this happen?" Her voice is shaking as she squeezes her eyes shut, her legs moving around. "No, you shouldn't have gone through all of this. You shouldn't." She chokes on her tears while still pacing around, her hand trembling as she touches the crease of her eyebrows. "No, no. You didn't deserve all of this. You didn't deserve any of this. How could you go through that without telling us? Oh, God, Luna."
She wipes the tears in her eyes and lets her sobs break, making my heart shatter as I see how much this hurts her.
I've explained everything to them although I don't know whether it's enough or not. It's hard for me to speak without breaking down. I've thought that I can handle it, but the moment I see their faces, I can't hold it anymore.
Aiden is seething, his chest heaving up and down. I've never seen him so angry.
"That fucker," he hisses, speaking about Rory. "I'll make her pay."
I sniff. "It doesn't matter anymore. Everything has already happened."
Yes, because I was so stupid.
A tear drops onto my cheek, followed by another, and another. The entire world has seen my pictures, and I've ruined my parents' reputation. Even though Dad and Aiden have tried their best to control the media, the damage caused by the earlier distribution of the pictures is still there.
And even though Dad controls the biggest news media company in the country, it doesn't mean that we don't have any competitors in the media industry.
In fact, Dad's competitor is taking advantage of this situation to destroy us.
"And you didn't tell me about it?" Aiden shouts, looking like he wants to break something. "That you've been threatened? That you've been blackmailed?"
"It wasn't easy for me," I shout back, matching his angry tone although I'm crying too. "It's never easy for me to let you know about how fucked up I am." Damn, I use that forbidden word, but hell with that. "Even when I started to get bullied a year ago, I couldn't just speak up to let you know that I was an outcast."
My words make the three of them freeze.
"You've been bullied?" Aiden's voice is shaking.
My vision becomes blurry even more with all these tears filling my eyes, and when I nod, closing them, more tears fall.
When Aiden's eyes become glassy, I swallow a lump in my throat. He turns his back at me and walks a few steps away. He then lets out a shaky breath, and I notice his shoulders shaking.
Oh, God, now I've made my brother cry.
"Aiden," I whisper brokenly, but the moment he snaps his body around, facing us again, the air in my lungs feels like being sucked.
His eyes are bloodshot as he stares at me. The anger in his eyes hurts me even though I know that it isn't directed toward me, but toward all those bullies in my school.
My brother looks so angry. So very angry.
"I'm sorry," I rasp. "I'm so sorry that I've humiliated all of you. I'm so stupid. I thought that I could prevent all of this from happening, but I was wrong. That person is unstoppable." I look down, feeling ashamed of myself as I wipe my tears. "I made a mistake. I was so scared, I couldn't think clearly. All I could think about was to prevent her from spreading the pictures. I didn't want to make another move that would enrage her. I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
A pair of arms wrap around me, and I sob as Mom engulfs me in a tight hug, sitting next to me. My face crushes her chest, and being in her embrace makes me cry even harder.
"Honey, how could you think like that?" Mom whispers, trying to soothe me even though her own heart is breaking. "You shouldn't have gone through all of that alone. You shouldn't have kept it all to yourself. Her threat wasn't something that you should be worrying about." Her voice breaks at the end of her sentence, and she tightens her hold on me.
I pull away and stare at Mom in disbelief. "What are you talking about?" I cry. "Are you all not devastated by the news about me? I made you all ashamed."
"Luna!" Aiden roars, making me jump as I snap my head toward him. "I can't take this anymore. Do you not know how much you mean to us?" He's panting and on the verge of exploding. "I won't allow you to be like this anymore. You're so confused, you don't even know how much you're worth and how much you mean to us."
My lips tremble. "You made it sound like it was easy for me," I shout back at him. "You don't know my struggles. You don't know how I thought that it was all my fault when everything crumbled one year ago. You don't know how they treated me like I'm the bad guy, like I deserved all those bullies--"
"Stop it," Aiden snaps, sounding like the more I speak, the more the words will kill him. "Goddammit, Luna, you made me want to break something. How could you--"
"Enough, Aiden," Dad warns, making me turn to look at him. After being silent, Dad finally speaks. His jaw tightens, and his eyes are piercing, like they can cut anyone who lands their gaze on them.
Aiden grits his teeth. "Dad, how could you allow this kind of nonsense?" he snaps again, his loud voice echoing in the room. He's completely out of control after hearing my story. "I fucking want to kill those bastards--"
"Aiden!" Dad booms while Aiden is still panting because of his rage. "Compose yourself," Dad warns.
Dad shifts his attention to me again, and I hold my breath. I've never seen him this scary, it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand.
"Dad," I stutter, trying to calm my heartbeat.
"Names, Luna," Dad says.
And I'm stunned.
"Names," he repeats. "All of them. Those who made you trapped and suffer like this," he speaks through gritted teeth. "The one who set the paparazzi on fire with this bullshit. Those you met at the fashion show. Those you met at the party. I want all of them."
"But..." I falter. "Will you retract the news? Still, the pictures..." I stare at him in disbelief. "The pictures showed clearly what I was doing at the drug party. No one can't deny that. How can you make the world believe us?"
Aiden scoffs and looks at Dad proudly. My pulse quickens as silence fills the room.
Even though Dad hasn't answered my question, his eyes speak it all.
And with that, I know the answer to my question.