Naively, I thought it was possible. Stubbornly, I had to try.
But maybe freedom was never meant to be clean. Maybe it always demanded a price.
I’m not letting Tee be the one to pay it. She’s young. She still has time. She still has a chance at a life that isn’t negotiated, traded, or signed away.
In the end, my father wins. But not at my sister’s expense.
My gaze drifts to the open door of my office across the floor. The neat stack of folders. The mug I never use. The chair molded perfectly to my posture.
I don’t walk toward it.
“What’s going on?” Corm glares at me, his voice echoing around his office. The vein in his temple is dangerously swollen as he tries to rein in his reaction.
“Nothing. My priorities changed.” I fight the urge to fidget in my chair. I’m not going to show him my internal turmoil.
If I look uncertain, he’ll try to fix it. If he tries to fix it, I’ll cave. I can’t afford that.
Corm scoffs. “No, they didn’t. Is Stone blackmailing you?”
Not far from the truth. Not blackmail. Leverage. Proximity. The kind that doesn’t need threats to work.
I came here because if I don’t make the call now, someone else will. And I refuse to let that happen.
I can feel myself losing ground. Losing clarity. Losing the one thing that has always kept me safe—control.
Liam didn’t force anything. That’s the problem. I let him in. I let him unsettle me, distract me, make me reckless in ways I haven’t been in years.
And once I stop being fully in control, I become useful. Manageable. I won’t let that happen again.
“No, he is not blackmailing me. Just let it be. He isbetter suited to be the partner.” I swallow around the lump in my throat, and hope he didn’t hear the subtle break in my voice.
If I say it often enough, maybe it will sound like conviction instead of surrender.
Corm glares at me for a moment, despite knowing I never waver under his famous withering gaze.
I want to today, though.
“He’s not better suited.” The pen in his hand breaks, the pieces dropping onto his polished desk. “We never wanted him to buy in.”
I snort. So Cal was right. “Why did you ask him to compete then?”
I’m so tired, I just want to crawl into my bed and be done with this day. This week. This fucking year.
Corm’s jaw ticks. He stands up and goes to his corner cabinet. Pulling out a bottle of his precious Macallan, he pours himself an inch.
He swirls the liquid in the glass and then looks at me. “He wanted in, and I needed to find out why. I needed him under my watch.”
“Did you find out?” Not that it matters at this point.
“Not yet. Did you?” He takes a sip.
I snort, not bothering to answer. I found out how dangerous attraction can be when it blurs intent.
I found out how easily I forget myself when I wantsomething too much. I was too distracted to even try to find out Liam’s real motivation.
By his cock. But also by the stupid competition. By the illusion that this was ever just about work. I’ve been a pawn on their chessboard all along.
“Why are you giving up, Roxy?” Corm sits beside me. I wish he didn’t. “If it’s money, I’ll give you a loan.”
