I hit send.
And drop my head back against the headrest, staring at the ceiling like it holds answers.
It’s probably a mistake, a selfish, desperate mistake.
But I’m too exhausted to care.
The vibration startles me.
I fumble with the phone, staring at the screen.
Just a few words, nothing more, but enough to steal the air from my lungs.
Amy: I’m on my way.
My hands are shaking.
I reread the message three times, afraid it might disappear.
Maybe I haven’t lost her after all. And for the first time in weeks, I believe we might survive this.
CHAPTER 19
AMY
I’m sitting in the most luxurious airplane seat of my life, three hours from LA… and I’m hyperventilating.
No amount of muttering “penis” under my breath is helping this time.
God, I’m really doing this.
It wasn’t an impulse. Not really. It felt like it when I hit send—but the truth is, I’ve been miserable without him. Without Jake. Without Eli. And somehow, the video calls, thechats… they only made it worse.
Every smile, every stupid bad joke—it just chipped away at my resolve until there was nothing left to cling to.
And… he kept his word.
He fixed the narrative like he promised he would.
The photos disappeared. The story twisted itself into a harmless rumor—a misunderstanding, a publicity stunt, a hoax.
The few people I know who actually saw the pictures were easy enough to pacify—maybe too easy, if I’m being honest.
All it took was a dry laugh, a casual, “Have you seen him? Have you met me?” And they laughed it off.
Because, of course, right?
Why would someone like him ever want someone like me?
It worked, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
Maya was furious for the longest time, pissed that I didn’t just run after him. That I didn’t fight harder. But she doesn’t get it. She couldn’t.
I needed to let him go, if only to see if he’d actually stay gone. For me. For him. For both of us.
But sitting in that hotel room with him… looking at the wreck of a man I loved… Iknew.
Jake Hollander was a good man. A decent man. A man driven by guilt, yes, but good.
