“But you did.” The words settled heavily between us. She ran a hand through her hair, exhaling, some of the tension slipping but not disappearing. “I’m not saying this is all on you. Sebastian should have known better,” she said. “But I’m going to take a wild guess and say you were pushing all the right buttons?”
My stomach roiled. “Fine,” I muttered. “Fine. Yes. I fucked up.”
Charlotte’s lips curved into a small smile—relieved. Her hand landed on my knee, giving it a light squeeze. “Admitting it is the first step. I get that things can get out of hand, E. I do.” She hesitated, her tone softening. “I just… don’t like seeing you be that person.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Me neither.” I didn’t know what to do with that. Did Luca even know? About the kiss. About any of it? Or was he still walking around thinking everything was fine?
If I was being really honest with myself… he wasn’t the bad guy here. He hadn’t done anything wrong—he’d just been there. I was the one who crossed the line.
And that made it a hell of a lot harder to sit with.
Charlotte propped her elbow on the back of the couch, fingers threading through her hair. “There are a couple of piecesfloating around online. You, Sebastian, and Luca. I thought it was just gossip.”
I rolled my eyes. “There’s always gossip.” It barely registered. People had been talking about me long enough for it to blur into background noise.
But the thought snagged a second later.
Sebastian hated that noise. Hated the scrutiny. He’d spent years keeping his life sealed off from it—no personal interviews, no social media, no trail that wasn’t strictly professional—especially after the first time our names had been dragged through the headlines.
And now, with the company already being picked apart, with articles dissecting every move VistaReal made, this would only feed the narrative. Personal scandal layered neatly over professional instability.
I reached for my glass and took a longer sip, unease settling in heavier over the whole mess.
“Did he break up with him?”
I sank even further into the couch. “I don’t know.”
She blinked. “How do you not know?”
“Because he’s annoying and can’t say anything to my fucking face in a way that’s actually clear.” I rubbed my feet on the carpet. “The only thing I know is that Luca hasn’t been around or calling because his assistant told me. And he didn’t go to Sebastian’s birthday.”
She arched a brow. “His assistant?”
I reached for my glass too fast, sloshing the wine a little. “We’re office friends.”
“Right… because you’re working with him.” Her voice softened into suspicion. “Can you explain to me why? Because that’s a question you’ve been avoiding too.”
I didn’t want to tell her the truth about everything. My eyes dropped to the wine, watching it swirl around the bowl of theglass, my thumb tracing the stem over and over just to give my hands something to do.
Guess I was just as good as Sebastian at sidestepping conversations—hiding what mattered until it spilled out somewhere public and messy.
Fuck that?—
I told her everything instead.
Right from the beginning with Dad, all the way to that final call and me having to accept everything was gone. Charlotte went through her glass of wine. Then a second one. Her eyes kept getting wider through the whole story, and that little vein at her temple started to throb.
By the time I finished, she was pacing in front of the couch, shaking her head like she could barely contain herself.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” she declared.
Whoa. Charlotte swearing?
“There’s a line for that,” I muttered.
“That slimy weasel”—she jabbed a finger in the air—“And Mom did tell me he moved. She was furious because he left without telling her and apparently owed her money. This is just too much.”
Yeah… I really was never going to see a cent of it again. Things genuinely couldn’t get worse.
