“It means everything.” Her voice cracks. “Don't you get it? The media is tearing me apart. They're saying that you were faking the change all along. And maybe they're right. Maybe you were just pretending to be someone else to shut everyone up.”
“That's not fair.”
“What's not fair is that I stuck my neck out for you. I risked my reputation, my career, my professional credibility, for what?So you could party like you're still the same asshole who doesn't care about anyone but himself?”
“I care about you.”
“Then why didn't you call me last night? Why didn't you answer any of my texts? Why did I have to find out from social media that my boyfriend was at a strip club?” A lets out a cry. “God, you're just like Kai. I was so stupid to think you were different.”
“Don't,” I plead. “Don't compare me to him.”
“You're doing exactly what he did. Choosing the spotlight, the attention, the validation from strangers over the person who actually cares.” She chokes on a sob. “I watched Kai throw away what we had for applause and adoration. And now I'm watching you do the same thing.”
“I am nothing like Kai.” Fury floods through me. “That asshole dropped you the second someone shinier came along. I'm not doing that.”
“Really? Because it sure looks like it from where I'm standing.”
“One night, Avery! One fucking night where I let loose after winning a playoff game. That doesn't make me Kai.”
“He said the same things,” she says, her voice breaking. “That it was just one time. That it didn't mean anything. That I was overreacting. And then it kept happening.”
“This is exactly what I was afraid of,” she continues, crying openly now. “That you'd get tired of being the good guy. That the change wasn't real. That I was just another project you got bored with. That you'd prove every fear Kai left me with was justified.”
“That's not true. Avery, I love you.”
“You love me? You have a funny way of showing it. Because from where I'm standing, you just threw away months of work, months of building a better reputation, months of us beingtogether, for one night of partying. I was a fool to think you were different from Kai.”
“Don't compare me to that piece of shit!” I'm shouting now. “I'm not him. I went to a club with my teammates. I didn't cheat on you. I didn't lie to you. I didn't make you feel like you weren't enough.”
“But you did!” she screams back. “You made me feel exactly like that. Like I'm not enough to keep you from needing the approval of everyone else! Like one person loving you will never be enough when you can have hundreds of strangers worshipping you.”
“It was just one night! I needed to let loose. The pressure has been crazy.”
“We all have pressure, Liam.” She's crying harder now. “I've had people attacking me online for weeks, calling me every name in the book, saying I've ruined you. Comparing me to every girlfriend who's tried and failed to tame you. And I dealt with it. I didn't go out and humiliate you in public. I didn't prove every single person right who said you'd never change.”
“I never did anything wrong,” I insist, but my voice sounds weaker now. “I didn't cheat.” My stomach twists with guilt so hard I think I might puke.
“Perception matters. In our world, perception is everything. And right now, the perception is that you're the same irresponsible party boy you've always been, and I'm the idiot who thought she could change you. Just like I was an idiot with Kai.”
“Stop bringing him up,” I growl through gritted teeth. I’m not him. I’d never treat Avery the way he treated her. Never.
“Why? Because you don't like being compared to the man who broke my heart? Well, guess what, Liam, you're breaking it too. You're doing exactly what he did, and I was stupid enough to let it happen twice.”
“You only care about what people think.”
“Because it's my job. Because your reputation affects both of us. Because I swore I'd never let another athlete make me feel this way again, and here I am, crying over the same fucking pattern.” She breaks off with a sob.
“I can't do this. I already survived Kai. I won't survive you, too.”
“Avery, please.”
But she's already disconnected.
She hung up on me.
And she thinks I'm just like the asshole who broke her heart.
The comparison burns worse than anything else she said. Because part of me wonders if maybe she's right.
