Her lips turn into a sneer as she sits on the table a foot away and taps her scary, long, blood-red nails on the papers. “I don’t know what you thought you and Sully had, but it’s over now. I’m offering a clean break. Now be a good little fangirl and sign these papers.”
The base of my skull prickles, and it spreads along my spine. Gigi may have a model face and an angel’s voice, but staring into her eyes is like seeing the devil. My body goes cold.
“I’m not doing anything until I speak to Sully in person.”
Gigi moves faster than a bullet, pulling my chair away from the table with me in it. How is she this strong? Maybe she is a she-demon.
“He’s off-limits. You’re dealing with me now.” She crosses her arms and narrows her eyes. “Now sign these fucking papers.”
I find my voice hidden underneath all my hurt, confusion, and spite. “You can shove those papers up your tight waxed ass.” I stand and push the papers with such force they flutter to the ground.
She sighs, tsking. “Haven’t you seen us online? We’re meant to be. That’s what our fans say. You can’t come between us.”
She moves closer, and I’m frozen in place, turned to stone by her glare. “He’s mine. He could never be yours. All you are is a woman playing make-believe. And as a mermaid!” She cackles, shaking her head. “How pathetic.”
Gigi grabs the blue pendant hanging around her neck and idly runs it along its silver chain. The massive sparkling diamond ring on her left-hand glints in the light, deliberately catching my eye.
“You see this?” she purrs, holding up her hand like a queen showing off a crown jewel. “Sully gave it to me last night.”
The room seems to tilt, but I lock my knees, refusing to stumble.
A lie. Ithasto be.
But for a split second—only a split second—the old wound reopens.
The memory of Teddy and his cruel prank. The hope that twisted into heartbreak when he ended things, and tried to ruin my career, instead of proposing.
I shove the memory away, blinking fast.
“That’s funny,” I say with a tight smile. “Sully never mentioned being anyone’s fiancé and he said those pictures of you were faked.”
Gigi’s laugh is like shattered glass—sharp, cruel.
“We’re keeping it private. For now.” She winks. “Can’t risk the media getting too wild before the tour.”
My mind races.
Sully had just asked me tocome with him. Would he really do that if he were engaged to someone else?
But the doubt—tiny, toxic—creeps in anyway.
Men have lied to me before. Played me before. Maybe I was being played again, too foolish to see it. Still, I meet Gigi’s catlike gaze head-on. “Until Sully tells me himself, I don’t believe a damn word you say.”
Her smile fades, just a crack. She slides closer, her expensive perfume coiling around me like smoke.
“You poor thing,” she says softly, almost pitying. “Still clinging to a fantasy. Still thinking someone likehimcould ever choose someone likeyou.”
Each word strikes like a whip. She wants me to break. She wants me to run.
But I stay frozen, fists balled so tight my nails dig into my palms.
I don’t know what the truth is yet. But I know I’ll find it—from Sully. Not from her.
Gigi circles me, her heels clicking a slow, mocking rhythm. “You have two choices, little mermaid. Walk away with a career and a nice fat check.” She nudges the papers with the toe of her designer shoe. “Or stay…and be crushed. Trust me, love, you don’t survive long standing in my light.”
I smile, sweet and slow, even though my heart’s shattering inside.
“Guess we’ll see,” I say.
