She kneels slightly in front of me, lowering herself to my eye level.
“You are not stupid for loving someone,” she says quietly.
I shake my head.
“But I knew the risks,” I say. “I knew my career was on the line. I knew the perception would fall on me harder than him. And I still chose him.”
My voice cracks completely now.
“I thought he was different,” I whisper. “I thought what we had was real.”
Susan’s lips press into a thin line.
“It was real,” she says.
I look at her sharply.
“You don’t know that.”
She hesitates.
And there it is again.
That guilty look.
“Amelia,” she begins carefully. “Wilder was in this office Friday afternoon.”
My heart stutters.
“He was told,” she continues slowly, “that if he loved you, he needed to walk away. That staying with you would destroy your career.”
The room tilts.
“What?”
“Coach Carson said it plainly. Kamden said it bluntly. The league made it clear.”
My breath becomes shallow.
“He asked about transfers,” she adds. “He didn’t argue about himself. He argued about you.”
I stare at her, trying to process.
“So you told him to leave me?” I whisper.
“I told him to protect you,” she replies, her voice tight. “There’s a difference.”
“Is there?” I ask, a hollow laugh escaping me. “Because it feels the same.”
She closes her eyes briefly.
“He didn’t want to,” she says softly.
That hurts more.
“Then why did he look so comfortable?” I demand. “Why did he act like I meant nothing?”
“Because he knows how to wear a mask better than anyone I’ve ever worked with.”
