Her jaw tightens.
I keep going.
“I lost her. I lostthegirl.”
Her voice turns cold. “Leo, this will pass. She’ll be a moment. A trend. The ‘it girl’ for a week. Then she’ll fade, and all of this will settle. Nobility, old money, family lines—these things last generations. Don’t forget that.”
I stare at her.
Fuck, she has no idea.
“She’s not fading,” I say. “Not anytime soon.”
Mom opens her mouth, but I beat her to it.
“The View called,” I say flatly. “They want her as a guest. Dateline too. Tristan’s PR team is drowning in interview requests. Jade Bryan’s not just an ‘it girl.’ She’s becoming a name. A big one. She has the best attorneys who smell blood in the water. She might nit settle but she will be pressing criminal charges.”
Mom’s pearl necklace actually creaks as she stiffens. “They won’t find anything. You know how investigations work around here, Leo.”
“She’ll be a household name,” I add. “Maybe even global. And she has Tristan Vale’s attorney team. I think they will find out who slimed her.”
Dad whistles low under his breath. “Damn.”
Mom looks like she might faint.
And for the first time in my life, I don’t feel like defending her feelings.
Because Jade deserves this.
Jade deserves everything.
But the worst part?
The part chewing at my insides like broken glass?
I’m not the one by her side for any of it.
She did all this without me.
And she might never need me again.
The next morning, I wake up like I didn’t sleep at all.
Technically I did. My phone says four hours. My body says zero. My brain sure as hell says zero.
The first thing I see is my screen.
Paused on her face.
Jade. Wind in her hair, that leather jacket, eyes locked on the camera like she’s daring the world to look away from her.
I press play again.
“You don’t have to be silent anymore. I’m speaking for you.”
Every time she says it, something in my chest pulls tight and refuses to let go.
I should stop watching.
