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“I’d rather you didn’t see me like this.”
“Like what?”
“Vulnerable.”
“Farrow.” I closed my eyes, drawing a breath. “I’ve shown you the darkest, most depraved sides of me. I bared my soul to you. All I’m asking is to catch a glimpse of yours.”
The world tilted on its axis as I waited for her answer.
Finally, she said, “You can come in.”
I pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind me. Natalie lurked somewhere in the house—Constance, too, maybe—and I felt protective of Octi’s privacy.
She lay in bed, her long legs tangled in the satin sheets, her face buried in a pillow.
She wore nothing but an oversized sweatshirt, somehow looking lovelier than any girl I’d ever seen in a ballgown. Her golden hair splayed across the pillowcase like liquid sun rays.
Something tightened in my chest at the sight of her.
This better be a heart attack, Zachary,Mom’s voice warned inside my head.
I rushed to her bedside. “What happened?”
I’d never seen her cry or anything close to it. In fact, one of the reasons this woman appealed to me so much was the fact that she was stronger than tungsten.
“Who did this to you?” I demanded.
My hands found her back, rubbing it back and forth as I sat on the edge of the mattress.
Face still buried in the pillow, she fished her phone out from under her chest and tossed it in the general vicinity of my hand. “This is what I woke up to.”
ANew York Timesarticle popped on the screen, the headline bolded.
Farrow Ballantine:
Prodigy, Talent, CHEAT.
“Check out the news tab under my name.” The silk muffled her moan—not quite a cry but a sign of her obvious misery. “Just have a bucket ready in case you need to vomit.”
Dozens of scandalous headlines graced all of the leading sites.
Farrow Ballantine Officially Kicked off the Olympics for Throwing Match.
Fencer Farrow Ballantine Lost on Purpose—Should Team USA give her another chance?
Farrow Ballantine ‘Cheated’ the System:
A report.
Nothing about these headlines surprised me.
I’d dug all this up in my deep-dive prior to hiring her.
Shortly before returning to the States, Farrow had thrown her last match in Seoul.
The little cheat somehow managed to keep it under wraps, handling this internally with USA Fencing and the Olympic Committee.
ThatI didn’t know how she’d pulled off.
