"No." My voice cracks slightly, and I clear my throat. "No. This is about more than just you. It's about the repeated security failures. It's about my reputation. It's about..." I search for more reasons, more walls to erect between us, "...professional boundaries that should never have been crossed."
Ethan steps closer, towering over me, his blue eyes glacial. "Bullshit. Yesterday you were fine with crossing boundaries, these past weeks..."
"Have been a mistake," I repeat, cutting him off. "One I've rectified by hiring professionals who understand that business is business."
"We are professionals," Ethan growls.
"Really?" I gesture around the room. "Is this professional? Sleeping with your client? Bringing your criminal friend into my home? Failing time andagain to keep me safe?"
The words land like physical blows. Ethan's jaw tightens, a muscle jumping in his cheek. Declan's face has gone completely blank, a fortress shutting down. But it's Mateo's expression, open hurt, confusion, betrayal, that nearly breaks my resolve.
"I don't believe you," Mateo says, his voice uncharacteristically flat. "Something's happened."
I turn away, unable to bear the rawness in his golden eyes. "What's happened is I've come to my senses. I allowed myself to be charmed, manipulated even, into thinking you three were something special. But the facts speak for themselves."
"Jade," Ethan's voice has turned dangerous, a coiled spring of anger. "Look at me."
I steel myself and turn, meeting his gaze with all the ice I can muster.
"We might not have disclosed everything about our past. But we never lied to you. The ones who were misled are us. You're exactly what they say you are," he says quietly. "Cold. Calculating. Using people and discarding them when they're no longer entertaining."
The words slice deeper than he knows. Because it's the lie I've built my life around, the cage I've constructed to protect myself. And now I'm crawling back into it, locking the door behind me.
"It is what it is," I say with a dismissive shrug.
The front door opens without warning and Gloria appears. I've texted her previously to come to the house.
I move past the men, putting my back to them and facing Gloria, brushing against Declan's arm. The brief contact sends electricity through me, a final reminder of what I'm giving up.
The air tightens as her eyes scan the scene. The tension radiating off the three men, the papers still spread across the coffee table, and me, standing tall, face expressionless, spine like ice.
Her gaze lands on me. She knows something's wrong. Of course she does.
"Gloria," I say, loud enough for them all to hear. "Perfect timing. Would you please see these gentlemen out? They're no longer under contract, and we've concluded our business."
Her brows lift, just slightly. She doesn't speak. Not right away.
We lock eyes across the room, and I give her the smallest shake of my head.Don't ask. Please, not now.It's all there in the look I send her, equal parts desperation and plea.
She holds my gaze for a long beat. Then, gracefully, she turns to the men and squares her shoulders.
"Understood," she says, her voice perfectly composed.
I turn back to the three men, summoning the last of my strength. "Your final payment will be processedtoday. The pool house should be vacated by tomorrow morning. Any further communication should go through Gloria." I pause, twisting the knife one final time. "And remember, you all signed NDAs. What happened here stays here."
Without waiting for a response, I walk out of the living room, my legs somehow still supporting me. I don't look back. I can't. If I see their faces again, Ethan's fury, Declan's resignation, Mateo's hurt, I'll crumble.
I make it to my bedroom, closing the door with a soft click that sounds like finality. Only then do I allow myself to slide to the floor, back against the door, as silent sobs wrack my body.
I've done it. I've pushed away the only people who've ever seen the real me. I've burned the bridges to protect them from the fire.
I'll deal with whatever comes next on my own terms. I've survived before. I'll survive again.
But as I press my fist against my mouth to stifle the sounds of my breaking heart, I know one thing with absolute certainty: I will never be the same.
36
JADE
