It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. God, I did. I wanted to walk her to her front door, make sure she was safe. But I couldn’t. If someone saw that meant they could take a picture or open their mouth. And it meant it could reach Damius. I wouldn’t take that risk.
If he found out what she meant to me, it wouldn’t just be my problem. It would destroy her.
Her eyes searched mine. Slowly, she nodded to herself.
“You don’t want to be seen with me.”
“It’s not that,” I said.
“Then what is it?”
“It’s complicated.”
The words felt weak. Empty.
Her mouth curved, but not in a smile. “You think I don’t understand complicated?”
The elevator dinged. The doors opened to the marble lobby. She didn’t move. Neither did I.
“Are you going to walk out of the elevator, or is this your goodbye?”
Pure panicked rushed through me.
“It’s not goodbye.”
She waited.
“Just… message me,” I said finally. It sounded pathetic, even to me. “Please.”
She studied me, long enough to make it hurt. I could see the realization cross her face. He’s hiding me. And she was right. Every interaction we had. I made saw eyes weren’t on us.
If I was honest with myself, that dinner had been too public.
“Right,” she stared at me a moment longer than the doors began to close again, and she stepped out before they did.
No goodbye or telling me she would. Just that broken look on her face. Similar to the night I found her at the event.
9
Vince
I was known for a bad temper. But it gotunbelievablethe morning that box showed up.
A shirt.
A pair of heels.
A hoodie.
To anyone else, they were nothing—discarded clothes. To me, they were history wrapped in tissue paper.
The first gift I ever gave a girl. And the two pieces I’d sworn would never find their way back to me.
My chest burned when I saw them. Every inch of Villain seemed to shrink until it was just me and that box. That blonde ghost in stilettos, laughing, turning her head like she didn’t know she owned me back then.
By the time I hit the casino floor, the mood had already turned violent.
Dealers froze when they saw me. Security teams straightened. The pit bosses didn’t dare breathe too loud.
