Not Nitro.
I can’t call Nitro.
But Derek.
Derek will understand.
Derek was in a long-term relationship with me.
Derek knows what it’s like to lie to someone, to betray them, to hurt someone who trusted you.
So, I find his number in my contacts, my finger hovering over the call button.
What the hell am I doing?
This is a bad idea.
Iknowit’s a bad idea.
Derek is the last person I should be calling right now. He’s cruel and manipulative, and he’s the one who started this whole mess by body-shaming me and kicking me out.
But I’m drunk and broken, and I need someone to talk to.
Someone who’ll understand.
Someone who won’t judge me for still being in love withanotherman who lied to me.
So, I press call.
And he answers on the third ring. “Marley?” His voice is surprised, pleased in a way that should set off alarm bells, but doesn’t because I’m too drunk to think straight. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“D-Derek.” My voice cracks, and suddenly I’m crying again. “I fucked up. I fuckedeverythingup.”
“Hey, hey… slow down. What happened?”
I take a shaky breath, wiping at my face with the back of my hand. “Remember that guy? The one I brought to the gala?”
“Your boyfriend? The biker?” There’s something in his voice, curiosity tinged with disdain.
“Yeah, him.” I laugh, but it comes out broken. “Except he’s not just a biker, Derek. That’s the problem. He’s been lying to me this whole time about who hereallyis.” I hiccup at the end.
“I don’t understand. Wait! Marley, are you drunk?”
I wave him off, even though he can’t see me. “Might have had one wine…”hiccup“… anyway, his name isn’t just Nitro. It’s Damon. Damon-fucking-Blackwell.” I wait for recognition, and when it doesn’t come immediately, I clarify, “Of Blackwell Entertainment Group.”
There’s silence on the other end. Then Derek’s voice is sharp with interest. “Damon Blackwell? The billionaire?”
“Yes!” The word is bitter on my tongue. “The same one. He’s been pretending to be some regular guy this whole time.”hiccup“Driving Uber, playing it off like he’s anormalman when he’s actually running a billion-dollar empire.”
“Jesus, Marley. That’s—”
“Insane? Manipulative? A complete violation of my trust?” My voice rises. “Yeah, Derek. It is. And I fell for it. I fell forhim.The whole fake-dating thing? It started as this arrangement to make you jealous at the gala…”hiccup“… but then it became real. At least Ithoughtit was real.”
“Hold on. Back up. Fake dating?” Derek’s voice sharpens with interest, and through my wine-soaked haze, I miss the predatory edge entirely.
“I was upset about you moving on so fast,” I admit, the words tumbling out before I can stop them. “About seeing you with that prissy blonde at work. So, when I ran into Nitro again at a coffee shop…”hiccup… “… Sage suggested I bring him as my date to make you jealous. He agreed. We practiced. We got our story straight. But somewhere between the practice dates and the real thing…”hiccup“… it just… stopped being fake.”
Derek lets out a small laugh. “You fell for him.”
