“And no contact.”
“Yes.”
“You know what else you accepted?” He holds my gaze. “You accepted me losing credibility with my team.”
My chest caves.
“You think this doesn’t touch me? Or the organization?” His voice sharpens. “They don’t shrug at this. They avoid it.”
I can’t argue.
“Rowan called. Head of PR.”
My chest checks hard left. “What did she say?”
“She said, ‘We’re aware. We’re monitoring. This isn’t the brand we’re looking for.’” The room tilts. “And then she asked if you’re coming in as a player,” Liam says quietly, “or as a liability.”
“I’m not?—”
“You are,” he cuts in. “Right now.”
He braces his hands on the island, shoulders tight. “They were going to bring you to development camp this summer.”
My breath stutters.
“They pulled it. Quietly.”
“What?”
“Not officially. But it’s pulled. Until this resolves. Until you’re not radioactive.”
Radioactive.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t unfuck it,” Liam says evenly. “This is what the real world does. It closes doors quietly.”
I stare at the floor.
“Do you understand what you did to her?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“No,” he says sharply. “You understand what you did toyou. Now you’re hurting. Now it matters.”
My breath shakes.
“Answer me.”
“I engineered it,” I force out. “I used my status. The team. Everything. And she had none of it. Just herself.”
Silence stretches. Rain drums against the glass.
“Jesus,” Liam whispers.
“I didn’t know she’d become…her.”
“That’s the point,” he snaps. “You didn’t think she was a person until she mattered toyou.”
