I hang up.
My next call is to Marcus. He answers on the second ring.
"What do you want?" he asks in a wary voice, his car engine humming in the background.
“Are you still in the facility?”
“I’m at the car park.”
“I want to tell you something.”
The sound of the car engine goes off.
“You have five minutes. Be fast.”
When I get to his car, he motions me to come in. I slide into the passenger seat.
"I'm holding a press conference tomorrow where I’ll expose Gregory and confess about Ivy."
There’s a long pause.
"You're serious?"
"Yes."
"It will destroy your career."
"Probably."
He exhales. "Do it."
The words surprise me. "What?"
"If you really love her, prove it," he says in a hard tone. "Show her… Scratch that. Show me that you love my sister or back off and stop playing games with her heart."
I sigh, shoulders deflating. "She won't take me back."
"Maybe not. But at least you'll be able to look at yourself in the mirror."
He turns on the ignition, and I step out of the car. As he drives off, I try my best not to think of how I'll destroy everything I've built tomorrow. My reputation. My career. My carefully constructed public image.
But maybe I'll finally become the man Ivy deserves.
The man who chooses truth over safety.
The man who fights instead of hiding.
I pull up Ivy's contact one last time, even though I know she's blocked me and type out a message that will never reach her:
Declan:
Tomorrow, I'm going to burn it all down. I've been letting Gregory control me while I controlled you. But that stops tomorrow. Everyone will know the truth. And whatever happens after, at least it will be real.
The message fails to deliver, but I’ve sent it anyway. Then I go back to the locker room, change, and walk out of the arena.
Tomorrow, I fight for my truth.
And if it costs me everything, at least I'll finally be free.
