“Let's look at this rationally, Bash,” Rudy suggests, always the voice of reason. “Are you being scammed or set up?”
I replay the last few months with Amelia in my head, searching for something I might've missed. She never struck me as capable of this kind of deception. Unlike most women I've met, nothing about her ever felt performative, no angles, no agendas. With her, everything seemed honest and real.
But doubt creeps in, and I'm questioning everything.
Has Jaxson used Amelia to toy with me? What are their motives?
“What reason would there be to set me up, Rudy?” I ask aloud.
“Don't you have a morality clause in your contract?” he asks sharply. “How much damage would an alleged affair with the wife of your hockey rival cause your reputation?”
“That's not just bad, that could be career-ending.”
“How long have you and she been going out in public together?" he challenges. “Are you discreet?”
“We don't go out in public much," I explain. "I have to protect myself, and I wanted her to enjoy being with me—not the hockey superstar. You know how the girls are these days. Once they figure out who I am, it becomes all about my money and bragging rights. That's why, when we do go out, I stick to subtle disguises or go to private spots. Besides, we're just friends, Rudy! Nothing more.”
"You actually believe that, as famous as you are, she didn't know who you were right off the bat and played the long game? Come on, Bash, you're not stupid."
Now I begin to feel foolish. All the time Amelia and I spent together, we played texting games. It can't be. She seemed so real.
[Flashback]
Amelia:Let's play a game. LOL
Me:Sure. What kind of game?
Amelia:Twenty questions to get to know each other. I'll start.
Do you believe in soulmates?
Me:I don't know. Maybe. I kinda want to believe in that stuff, but I've never experienced it myself.
What about you?
Amelia:I thought I did, but now I don't know. I guess I'm confused. I once thought my husband was my soulmate, but I don't think I believe that anymore.
Me:Y?
Amelia:How could your soulmate do that to you?
[End of Flashback]
Our conversations always seemed guileless, genuinely her own, with a soul that was quietly broken and fragile.
“The press would eat this up," Rudy warns, bringing me back to the present. “They love to spin a story. It wouldn't matter if it were true or not, as long as it sold the rags!”
He's right. Of course he is.
“That kind of scandal would ruin me,” I mutter.
Anger replaces nausea. Amelia was supposed to be my friend.
She's known all along who I am. How could she not? She colluded with Jaxson to try to destroy me.
“Where did she go?” I growl, furiously scanning the room for her bright red sweater.
“I saw her sneak upstairs after she tossed out her father's name to deflect from her own.”
My eyes narrow, and my heart turns stone cold.
There it is. The angle. The part she never let me see. She's guilty. There’s always been an agenda.
Here, I thought I was falling—
No. I scoff sharply, fists clenching at my sides as I force the thought away. I refuse to let myself be played by another lying viper wrapped in an innocent face.
I race up the stairs to confrontAmelia Kingston. If she and Jaxson think their manipulations are going to sabotage my career, they've got another thing coming. I'm going to send Mrs. Kingston packing, literally and figuratively.
