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“Help you?” she scoffed. “By tricking you into kissing him so he could have his fifteen minutes of fame?”
Anger, quick and unrelenting, crashed over me, chasing away any lingering anxiety. “That’s a lie.”
“What? You think he loves you?” The contempt in her voice could have melted the paint from the walls. “Oh, honey, even you can’t be that stupid.”
“If I’m stupid, it’s because I wasted my entire life trying to win your approval, but I’m done. I don’t really care what you think of me anymore.”
“Stop being so dramatic.”
“Oh, you mean, like when you cried on television about how I stole from you?”
A condescending smirk tugged at her lips. “Yes, well, you forced my hand when you refused to listen to reason.”
Was she fucking serious right now? “Reason? You lied to everyone and sent me to rehab for an addiction I don’t even have. Twice.”
“Use your head, Nathan. I was down in the polls. I had to do something, and it’s not like I sent you to some state-run facility.”
“And that makes it okay?”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this. You said you wanted to be useful.”
“Useful, yes,” I clarified. “I never said I wanted to be used.”
“Enough!” She inhaled deeply through her nose and smoothed a lock of ebony hair back into place. “We’re leaving now.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
She had heard me correctly, and I saw no reason to repeat myself. “If that’s all you came to say, you can go. I’m sorry you wasted the trip.”
“You need to think carefully,” she said, her tone dripping with threat. “You don’t want to do something you’ll regret.”
“I’ll take that into consideration.”
With one last scathing glare, she spun and marched across the room, her heels clacking over the linoleum. She had barely cleared the threshold when Ari and Gage rushed back into the room.
“You were amazing, baby,” Gage praised as he dragged me into a crushing embrace. “I’m so proud of you.”
I clung to him, my eyes stinging with unshed tears. No one had ever said that to me before, and until that moment, I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed to hear it.
“Thank you, Gage. For everything.”
“Don’t thank me just yet.”
Before I could ask what he meant by that, Ari settled into a chair with her back to us and started speaking into the camera.
“Hey, everyone! Thanks for joining me. If you’re as angry about what you just saw as I am, be sure you register to vote. That’s it for today, but I hope to bring you a follow-up soon.” She lifted one hand, her index finger pointing downward. “Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.” Then, she waved both hands at the camera. “Bye for now!”
“Gage?” I stared back and forth between him and Ari, my heart thundering inside my chest. “What’s going on? We were live this whole time?”
“Ari started it remotely after we left the room.” His smile softened, and he brushed a lock of hair back from my brow. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
My eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You’re the one who told her where we are.”
He shrugged, completely unrepentant. “She called while you were in the shower this morning. I maybe have accidentally let something slip in the middle of telling her to fuck off.”
“Liar.” There was no heat to my voice, though, and I couldn’t stop that grin that stretched my lips. “You planned this, didn’t you?”
