The first photograph appeared on Page Six three days after Victoria's ultimatum meeting with Alexander. Sophia discovered it while drinking her morning coffee, scrolling through her phone as she waited for the twins to finish breakfast.
"BILLIONAIRE'S NANNY LOVE NEST!" screamed the headline above a grainy but unmistakably clear photo of her and Alexander kissing passionately in the garden. The image had been taken with a telephoto lens, probably from the street, and captured them in an intimate moment that made Sophia's cheeks burn with mortification.
"Oh my God," she whispered, nearly dropping her phone.
"What's wrong?" Alexander looked up from his tablet, immediately alert to the distress in her voice.
Wordlessly, Sophia handed him her phone. She watched his face darken as he took in the headline and image, his jaw clenching with barely controlled fury.
"Daddy, why do you look angry?" Emma asked, glancing between her parents with concern.
"It's nothing, sweetheart," Alexander said tightly, but his fingers were already flying across his own phone, no doubt calling his security team and PR department.
By noon, the story had exploded across every gossip blog and tabloid in the city. Paparazzi had materialized outside the Steele mansion like vultures, their long lenses trained on every window. The private security Alexander employed had cordoned them off from the property itself, but they couldn't stop the photographers from camping out on the public sidewalk.
"Mrs. Steele! Mrs. Steele!" they shouted whenever Sophia appeared near a window, somehow having gotten wind of their engagement. "How does it feel to go from nanny to billionaire's bride?"
"Is it true you're pregnant?" another voice called. "When's the wedding?"
Sophia retreated to Alexander's study, her hands shaking as she tried to process the nightmare her life had suddenly become. She'd known this might happen eventually, but the reality of it was overwhelming. Every private moment, every tender kiss, suddenly felt exposed and cheapened.
Alexander found her there twenty minutes later, pacing like a caged animal while he finished what sounded like a very heated phone call with his legal team.
"The photos were taken from public property," he was saying, "so legally there's nothing we can do about them. But I want to know who tipped them off about the engagement. This wasn't random, someone fed them information."
When he hung up, Sophia could see the barely leashed rage in his dark eyes.
"I'm having the entire security system upgraded," he said immediately. "Privacy screens around the garden, additional guards, everything. This won't happen again."
"Alexander, maybe I should just…"
"No." His voice was sharp enough to cut glass. "Whatever you're about to suggest, the answer is no. You're not hiding, you're not leaving, and you're sure as hell not letting these vultures win."
Sophia's phone buzzed with yet another notification, this time from her college roommate, who'd sent a screenshot of the gossip article along with three fire emojis and the message "GIRL! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"
"Everyone I've ever known is seeing this," Sophia said miserably. "My professors, my grandmother's friends, people from high school I haven't talked to in years..."
Alexander crossed to her in two quick strides, pulling her against his chest. "I'm sorry," he said into her hair. "I'm so fucking sorry this is happening."
"It's not your fault."
"Isn't it?" Alexander's voice was bitter. "I knew this could happen. I knew dating me would put you in the spotlight, but I was selfish enough to want you anyway."
Sophia pulled back to look at him, seeing the guilt and self-recrimination in his expression. "Hey. Look at me." She cupped his face in her hands. "I chose this. I chose you, knowing what it might mean. I just... I wasn't prepared for how invasive it would feel."
Before Alexander could respond, Mrs. Chen appeared in the doorway looking flustered. "Mr. Steele, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's been a development."
"What kind of development?"
"The school called. Apparently, photographers are trying to get pictures of the children. Security has been doubled, but..." She trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
Alexander's expression went from concerned to murderous. "They're targeting Emma and Ethan?"
"The principal assured me the children are safe, but several parents have called expressing concern about the... attention... the school is receiving."
Sophia felt sick. "The twins. Alexander, if those photographers are trying to get pictures of the children..."
"They won't succeed," Alexander said grimly, already reaching for his phone. "I'm pulling the kids out of school for the rest of the week. Full security detail whenever they leave the house."
As Alexander made arrangements for their protection, Sophia's phone continued to buzz with notifications. Text messages from friends, missed calls from reporters who'd somehow gotten her number, social media mentions that ranged from supportive to viciously cruel.
"Gold digger finally hit the jackpot!" one comment read.
"She's pretty but has obvious social climber vibes," said another.
"Those poor kids are going to have a stepmother who's barely older than a teenager."
Each comment felt like a physical blow, but it was the ones about Emma and Ethan that made her truly angry. How dare strangers speculate about children who'd been through enough trauma already?
"Stop reading those," Alexander said sharply, apparently noticing her expression as she scrolled. "They don't know you. They don't know us. Their opinions are worthless."
"But what if the twins see them? What if their classmates' parents are reading this garbage and..."
"Then we'll handle it," Alexander said firmly. "Together. But we won't run from it."
His phone rang, and Sophia could hear the tiny voice of what sounded like a very stressed PR executive on the other end. Alexander listened for a moment, his expression growing darker.
"Absolutely not," he said finally. "We're not releasing a statement apologizing for our relationship. We're not doing a preemptive interview to 'control the narrative.' And we're sure as hell not staging any photo opportunities to make the media happy."
He listened to more protests from the other end before cutting them off. "My private life is not a publicity campaign. Find another way to handle this."
When he hung up, Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Your PR team wants us to do an interview?"
"They want us to 'get ahead of the story,'" Alexander said with obvious distaste. "Apparently, several magazines have offered seven-figure sums for an exclusive with the 'billionaire and his Cinderella bride.'"
The phrase made Sophia wince. "Cinderella bride? Really?"
"The media loves a fairy tale narrative," Alexander said grimly. "Poor girl swept off her feet by wealthy prince. It sells magazines and clicks."
"Except it's not true."
"No, it's not. But the truth is more complicated than what fits in a headline." Alexander moved to the window, careful to stay out of sight of the telephoto lenses. "The question is how we want to handle this. We can try to ignore it and hope it dies down, or..."
"Or?"
Alexander turned back to her, and Sophia recognized the look in his eyes, the same calculating intelligence he brought to boardroom negotiations.
"Or we control our own narrative. On our terms, when we're ready."
Before Sophia could ask what he meant, her phone rang. The caller ID showed her grandmother's nursing home, and her heart immediately lurched with worry.
"Hello?"
"Miss Martinez?" It was Nancy, one of the day nurses. "I'm calling because your grandmother is quite upset. Apparently, some reporters came by earlier asking questions about you and your 'secret romance with a billionaire.' We turned them away, of course, but..."
Sophia sank into the nearest chair. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine physically, just confused and worried. She keeps asking if you're in some kind of trouble."
"I'll be there in an hour," Sophia said immediately.
"Miss Martinez, I should warn you, there are still photographers outside. They followed the reporters here."
Sophia closed her eyes, feeling trapped and exposed. Even her grandmother, the one person who should have been safe from all this chaos, was now being dragged into the media circus.
"They went after your grandmother?" Alexander's voice was deadly quiet.
Sophia nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
Alexander was already moving, grabbing his jacket and keys. "We're going to see her. Now. And I'm bringing enough security to make sure those vultures don't get within fifty feet of her."
"Alexander, you don't have to…"
"Yes, I do." He stopped in front of her, his hands gentle on her shoulders despite the steel in his voice. "She's going to be my family too, Sophia. Which means protecting her is my responsibility now."
The simple declaration, spoken with such certainty and care, nearly broke her composure entirely. In the midst of all this chaos and invasion, Alexander was thinking about her grandmother's comfort and safety.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," he said, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "And I'm going to make sure everyone knows that what we have is real, not some tabloid fantasy. But first, let's go take care of your grandmother."
As they prepared to face the gauntlet of photographers waiting outside, Sophia realized that this was another test, not of her love for Alexander, but of their strength as a team. The media had tried to turn their private joy into public spectacle, but they wouldn't let the vultures win.
Together, they could face anything. Even if it meant doing it under the glare of a thousand camera flashes.