I kept my voice even. “You framed me. Luke dropped enough proof in front of Principal Miller that he had no choice but to act.”
“Everyone folds for the right person,” she murmured, almost dreamy.
The corridor shrank to the length of my breath. “What do you want.”
“To help you accept inevitable things.” She lifted one shoulder. “You and Luke aren’t built for the long game. You know it.” Her gaze flicked to my pocket. “He sent you audio last night, didn’t he?”
No one should’ve had access. Not her. Not anyone. My skin chilled even as my phone felt hot through denim. “Back off.”
“That would be a yes.” The gleam in her eyes brightened. “Family counsel can be clarifying.Protect yourself. Don’t let her drag you into the fire.You heard it, didn’t you? And then the part where he agreed the smartest move might be distance.”
My throat scraped dry. “You shouldn’t know that.”
“I know more than you think.” She didn’t blink. “My family and the Kings make messy stories disappear when they threaten the wrong people. Lorne makes sure it happens. And Luke?” Her voice softened on his name. “Luke was raised to protect the family first. He’ll fold into their version before yours.”
The world tilted. I forced my feet to stay planted. “Say it enough times and maybe you believe yourself.”
“It is true.” She stepped closer, careful not to touch. “You want me to tell you he doesn’t care about you.” She shrugged. “He does. He cares so much it turns into weakness—and weakness that doesn’t align with family goals gets cut.”
“By Lorne.” My stomach churned, and bile splashed against the back of my throat. “Get away from me.”
She straightened, as if I’d bored her. “Enjoy your last week. Or month. However long it takes for him to decide the smart move is distance. He’ll tell you it’s for you. That’s his style. It will sound gentle. It will cut the same.”
“Leave.” The word was steady now. “Before I make you.”
Her smile sharpened. “You won’t. Because right now you’re wondering how much of what Luke tells you is a lie and how far he’ll go to give his family the ending they want—with me in it. And you’re probably realizing your mom works for my dad, which means I hold more power than you ever will.” She pursed her lips. “Or even if I was there when this conversation went down and if Luke and I laughed when he sent it to you.”
I didn’t move. I didn’t blink. I let my stare do the pushing for me. She held it. A beat. Two. Then she broke away, footstepsfading across the polished wood, leaving the air thinner in her wake.
My back slid down the wall, the cold brick seeping into my shoulder blades. Light from the high windows caught the dust and turned it into something I could measure by seconds. I pressed both hands to my eyes and counted to five, then twenty, because five didn’t touch it. My chest stuttered—breath, halt, breath, halt—as if my ribs had jammed.
Luke’s message replayed in my head, tangled now with the subtext Elise had slipped into the cracks. Was he playing me for a fool? Was she right—that the two of them were inevitable? And how else would she have known about the recording I got last night?
It was hard to swallow, especially with everything Elise had already done—the tampering, the rumors, the quiet dismantling of anything that tied us together.
Footsteps again. Different cadence. No perfume. I knew the weight of them before I admitted I did.
“Don’t,” I warned, voice raw.
He stopped instantly. The air shifted—less cold, more charged. He left two feet between us and didn’t close them, just stood there until my pulse began to steady against the outline of him.
“Mila.” His voice was low, careful. “What happened? Why the hell was Elise anywhere near you?”
My throat scraped. Words clung. “She—” I wrapped my arms tight around my middle as though I could stop myself from breaking. “She knows things she shouldn’t.”
His shoulders went rigid. “What things?”
I shook my head. The words stuck as if caught on barbed wire.
“Mila.” His voice cut sharper. “Tell me.”
I pushed to my feet so fast the blood roared in my ears. “That recording you sent last night—Elise knew. She threw it in my face like it was some private joke between you two.”
“What recording?” His eyes narrowed, lines cutting deep. “What do you mean she knew? And what the hell was she even doing near you?”
“She knew, Luke.” Fury burned through my throat. “She said you’ll fold the second your family demands it. That you’ll protect their version of your future, not anything with me. So, tell me—am I supposed to believe she’s wrong?”
His voice dropped low. “You really think I’d choose them over you?”
