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“Yes.”

“Ren, whatever it is, it can wait until after tomorrow⁠—”

“I’m sorry,” I cut her off. “I’m sorry, Tamsyn. My father, he’s done something terrible that jeopardizes my standing in this competition, and I . . . I cannot continue.”

“You . . . what?” She sat and pressed her hands onto the table. “Alright, slow down. You don’t have to go to those extremes, I’m sure. Tell me what’s going on.”

I had to tell her everything. All of it, for her to understand why I couldn’t continue, and why she couldn’t continue either. My father had taken this from her too.

I sat, took a breath, and I began to explain it all. My past, Cam’s past, our on-again, off-again relationship, my father’s appearance, his possible hand in getting me selected, his continued interference, and now his threats. His motive was to destroy Cam and put me on that podium at any cost. I could not participate knowing what he’d done. It wouldn’t be fair or right.

When I’d said it all, she sat leaning against the table, her hand over her mouth and her face pale.

“Ren . . .” Her voice shook.

Guilt and anger had me facing away. I was ashamed of my father, of my part in all this. Everything was corrupted, from day one of our preparations. The moment my father had reappeared at the gala, he’d begun to undermine me. I should never have accepted him back into my life, but I’d wanted the Olympic dream so much. Or I’d thought I did. It didn’t seem to matter now, if Cam wouldn’t be there to share it with me.

“You can’t let him do this.” Tamsyn’s trembling was anger too.

“It’s done. Cam is in the disciplinary panel right now. He may already have be dismissed.”

“Jesus . . .” She bent forward in the chair and breathed. “He shouldn’t be able to do this to us, to me . . . Your father doesn’t get to decide whether I skate and neither do you.”

But she couldn’t compete without me and my participation was tainted. “I’m sorry.”

She straightened, and stood, then paced to the windows and back. “You have to tell the committee. Maybe they’ll consider the circumstances.”

“Tell them what? My father has authority. They’ve already decided Cam is a liability.”

“You can’t just let this go! You can’t just walk away like nothing happened—” Her voice broke. “We are dancing tomorrow, Ren!”

My heart fractured at the sound of the pain in her voice. “No, we aren’t. We can’t.”

She stared and shook her head. “I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you’d do this to me.”

My father had ruined my life, and hers, and all I could say was sorry. It wasn’t enough. It was pathetic. And I hated myself for it.

“I’m sorry.” I stood. It was told. There was nothing left to say.

“You’re just going to leave?”

“I can’t stay.”

“You goddamn coward. Aren’t you even going to fucking try and fight for us, for him?”

I headed for the door.

“Is there nothing you can do?” The pain in her voice broke my heart anew. I truly was the horrible person everyone thought me to be. I was my father.

I opened the door.

But unlike him, I did have a heart. And there was something I could do that may at least help Cam. If I wasn’t already too late.

THIRTY-ONE

CAMDEN

I approached the same table with the same people as before staring back at me. All their faces were neutral. Not hostile but not friendly either. Miles was to my left, stoic and professional. The two security guards stood at the back, just in case I got spicy.