Her praise feels hollow, out of place against the backdrop of everything that’s just happened.
I glance toward the guys, but they’re already moving. Jake is the first to rise, his expression carefully composed as he murmurs something to Todd. Todd claps Xayden on the back, his swagger starting to creep back in as he laughs at whatever Xayden mutters in return. West is last, his gaze flickering toward me for a moment before he looks away, his jaw tight.
They’re leaving.
I step forward, my lips parting to call out to them, to saysomething, but the words get caught in my throat.
“Thanks, Shelley,” West says over his shoulder, his voice low but polite.
“Yeah, good shoot,” Jake adds, giving her a small nod as they make their way toward the door.
My chest tightens as I watch them go, their backs turned, their footsteps echoing in the suddenly too-quiet studio.
“Wait,” I manage, the word barely audible even to my ears.
But they don’t stop.
Xayden twirls his drumstick as he walks, his easy movements back in place like a shield. Todd cracks a joke that I can’t hear, but it makes Jake shake his head and West’s shoulders tighten.
And then they’re gone, the door swinging shut behind them.
The air feels heavier now, the silence pressing down on me in a way that’s almost suffocating.
Shelley’s voice pulls me back. “Ashlyn, that was incredible,” she says, flicking her finger over her tablet with a satisfied smile. “I’m telling you, this is exactly what the show needed. Raw, emotional, real. You nailed it. That promotion just might be yours after this.”
I nod numbly, forcing a tight smile as she rambles on about the production schedule and upcoming shoots. But my mind is elsewhere, stuck on the way the guys left without a word to me, the way they didn’t even look back.
I had bared my soul to them, tried to tell them I was here, that I was trying. And they walked away.
The ache in my chest deepens, spreading through me until it feels like I’m breaking all over again.
Maybe I was wrong.
Maybe some things are too broken to fix.
CHAPTER 34
Todd
“Shit,”Xayden mutters as we step into the studio, tossing his drumstick onto the nearest couch. He doesn’t sound angry—just worn out, like today took something out of him he wasn’t ready to give. “That was… a lot.”
I nod, adjusting the mic stand even though it hasn’t moved. The heaviness of Ashlyn’s words is still lodged in my chest, tangled with the hope and guilt they stirred. I keep hearing her voice, the raw honesty that spilled out, and I keep wondering what would have happened if I’d never told her to choose.
If I hadn’t been such an insecure asshole, would she have stayed? Would we all still be whole?
And now—this.Her and Owen splashed across every tabloid like some twisted reminder of everything we lost. Him smiling like he’s the hero, and her—our girl—blurred and shadowed like an afterthought. Like she’s his.
“I don’t think I can do that again,” West says, his voice tight. He leans against the wall, arms crossed, his gaze distant. “Not like that.”
Xayden drops onto the arm of the couch, rubbing a hand over his face. “It was raw, yeah, but it needed to be said.” He pauses, looking between West and Jake. “She needed to hear it.”
Jake shifts his weight, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. “But did we need to hear her say that? Or was it just… for the cameras?”
And maybe more importantly—was it forus, or for him?
Xayden lets out a breath, his foot tapping against the floor. “That’s the question, isn’t it?” His voice is quieter than I expected, less sharp, but still soaked in doubt. “She said the right things. But saying them and meaning them? Not always the same thing.”
I glance at him, surprised. Xayden’s been the one pushing us to talk to her, to give her a chance to make things right. Seeing even a flicker of doubt in him feels off-kilter, like the ground under us isn’t as steady as I thought.
