My chest squeezed. “O-Okay.”
“He doesn’t invite anyone,” the driver added, almost like a secret, eyes on the road. “Ever. Not since… well. Not since her.”
Her.
Sofia.
I stared down at my hands.
Joshua’s dad, the man who built an empire and lost his family for it, had asked me to dinner again.
Not because of business.
Not because of money.
Because it was quiet there. And talking to me, just me, made it less quiet. I leaned my head against the window and watched the city flicker by.
—
The lobby lights were still on when I came back. It was quiet, that kind of quiet that feels like it’s listening.
And then I saw him.
Joshua.
Sitting on one of the couches. Arms crossed. Head down. I froze for a second, heart jumping up into my throat. Practice wasn’t supposed to finish for another two hours.
He looked up when I stepped in.
“Hey,” I said softly, smiling because that’s what I always did when I saw him. “When did you get back? Practice should’ve ended—”
“Coach’s wife had an emergency,” he cut in. “He ended it early.”
His voice was low. Not cold. Not angry. Just… wrong. There was something tight in it, like every word scraped his throat to get out.
“Oh,” I said quietly. “I hope she’s okay.”
He didn’t answer.
I shifted my bag on my shoulder. “Um… should we go upstairs?”
He stood. No nod. No word. Just stood, towering, and started walking past me toward the elevator. I followed, pulse climbing with every step. The air between us felt heavy, thick. When the elevator doors closed, the silence hit harder.
I could hear him breathing. That was it. I glanced up once. He was staring straight ahead, jaw tight, eyes darker than usual. Iwanted to ask. I wanted to touch his arm. But something told me not to.
The doors opened.
We walked into the penthouse, still quiet, except for the faint hum of the city through the windows. I set my bag down by the counter, heart pounding because I could feel it. Something was wrong.
“Josh—” I started softly. “Are you—”
“Why did you go with him?”
The words hit so hard that it felt like the floor dropped.
I blinked. “W-What?”
He turned to me, eyes sharp, voice low. “Why did you go with him?”
