Vince

Sterile

"Care to comment on your appearance Mr. Moretti?" The reporter asked, shoving a microphone into his face.

"No."

The reporter got closer to him, sensing her fifteen minutes of fame increasing. She adjusted the microphone back to her, "We were told that Julian Wood was attacked last night while in the hospital. Are you aware of that?"

"No."

"How long did you know Mr. Wood?"

I could see the muscle in Vince's jaw twitching. Despite his large clothing, probably worn to avoid anyone noticing any further bruising, I could see the tension in his shoulders.

"A source provided us with details of a relationship between Mrs. Daniels and Mr. Wood, is that correct?" The reporter pushed the microphone closer to his face.

David scoffed next to me, "You don't hurt the people you care about."

"If reporters ask, I'll tell them all about how my gorgeous fiancé saved my life," I laughed.

"Fiancé?" Hannah yelled.

Vince replied once more, "No."

The reporter placed her fingers on an earpiece and a smile crossed her face quickly.

"Mr. Moretti, were you also arrested last night?"

"I was detained. Obviously not detained anymore."

"Also on an assault charge," The reporter said, intentionally making it seem like Vince had some kind of involvement.

Vince removed his sunglasses and looked down at the reporter, "I heard what happened and might've found Julian at the hospital and given him a reason to be there."

Large purple bruises littered his cheekbones. There was some swelling around his eye. I touched the bruise on my cheekbone, the same color as his.

The reporter had an evil glint in her eyes, "Was the arrest not enough?"

Vince scowled so hard I felt nervous for the reporter.

He spoke with venom in his words, "Julian deserves a lot worse than jail for the fear and pain he brought to the girls he attacked."

"Fiancé?" Hannah repeated herself, somehow louder than the first time.

"He needed to be family to stay," I explained.

Dean redirected the attention to himself, "We recognize how the public sees porn. Please don't think any less of the people you see on screen because one man's actions aren't representative of the population. We'd also like to ask you to please remember that anything we do on screen is consensual and monitored for safety."

Raphael added, "Thank you for your time."

The news cut back to the studio and Hannah shut it off. About an hour later, Kaleb's voice could be heard even though he was a hallway away. The door to my room opened and Kaleb entered, still chatting away.

"Hey darling," Raphael said, gently wrapping his arms around me.

"How're you doing?" Dean asked.

"The doctors say I can go home in a few days," I replied, hoping they wouldn't push it.

Raphael released me and moved away so Kaleb could hug me. Kaleb wasn't as gentle, cutting off some of my circulation with his hold.