But Chloe is crying, real tears now. There’s nothing fake about the way her heart is breaking. And I hate myself for it. How did this get so turned around?
Maya looks at Chloe, at me, then back. “Chloe? Are you okay?”
Chloe’s lips press tight, her gaze falling to the floor, hiding her tears.
Derek steps forward, positions himself slightly in front of Maya. Protective. His jaw is tight. “I knew it was a game.”
Something in me snaps. “It wasn’t a game!”
“Then what is it?” Derek’s voice is hard. Cold.
I turn back to Chloe. She’s standing there crying, mascara running, looking at me like I’m destroying her.
I am destroying her.
“Please—” The word comes out broken.
She takes a shaky breath. Wipes her eyes. “Fine.”
The whole ballroom is watching now, the song long over, silence pushing in on us from every side. I brace myself for the hit.
And then she says the words that shatter me completely. “You’re just like your father.”
The world stops.
“He chases the rush. The winning streak. Gambling everything for the next big score. And you”—her voice breaks—“you’re doing the same thing. Chasing your career, your contract, your success. And anyone who gets in the way?—”
“That’s not?—”
“You’ll hurt them.” Tears are falling freely now. “You’re a charmer, Brody. Just like him. Make people fall in love with you and then leave them picking up the pieces.”
I can’t breathe. Can’t move. Can’t process.
My father. The man whose mistakes I’ve spent my entire life trying to outrun. The gambling addict who ruined everything he touched.
I step back, the distance between us suddenly insurmountable.
My face must show something—betrayal, pain, devastation—because Chloe immediately looks horrified. Her hand flies to her mouth.
“Brody, I didn’t?—”
But she did. She said it. And she meant it.
I find my voice. It comes out quiet. Wrecked. “Yeah. You’re right.”
I turn and walk away.
I’m already out the doors when my phone buzzes.
Rick
Did you do it?
Yeah. I did it.
I destroyed the woman I love to fulfill a contract I should never have signed.
Seventeen
