instrument of corporate authority, was softened by a hint of surpri

ope tightening in my chest. "To come work for

always knew that man was no good for you. Pack your bags. I'll have a private jet ready by

catching. It felt too fast, t

od ever comes from lingering in a poisoned environment. Consider it do

was the echo of Angel's betrayal that kept me wide awake. I stared at the ceiling, the apartme

amed: "INSTAGRAM INFLUENCER BRITNEY HARDY HOSPITALIZED AFTER 'MY

erely sprained an ankle. The article painted a dramatic picture of a "sudden collapse" at a hi

ht! Always chasing rich

he' s a shady character, even if his family is loaded

victim card. Probably faked it for clicks. Sh

Hayleigh Lawrence for like, forever? Didn't she just expose him on social

hotted a brief interaction where I' d accidentally 'liked' a comment on an old news article about Angel's "copyright scandal," then immedi

She liked and unliked my comment calling B

nst Britney. Calls for boycotts of her sponsored brands, demands for investigations into her "unethical pra

. Really bad. Not for her, necessarily, but for

my front door, rattling the entire apa

voice, distorted by rage and muffled by t

phone. He sounded fu

ow. Angel stood framed in the doorway, his eyes blazing, his face a contorted mask

rabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my skin. "You sabotaged Brit

pull away. The pain in my ankle flared. "I

e. "You liked a comment! You confirmed e

sprained ankle, which had seemed so minor hours ago, now appeared to be causing her immense

nearby armchair, her body wracked with sobs. "My sponsors are droppi

me, his eyes hard as flint. "You're going to fix this, Hayleigh. You're going to issue a public apology. You're going to retract everything you 'implied' an

g tide of nausea. "You want me to lie? To apologize for

fe. Just say it was a misunderstanding. Please. I'll... I'll even stand with you. We can do a joint statement. You can say yo

me. "You want me to admit I'm an unstable, jealous ex, so you two can

y suddenly blurted out, her voice rising in pitch. "He said he was goin

He had stolen my savings, my dreams, for this woman, and then promised her

nd I'll even... I'll even reconsider things between us. I know we had our issues, but we have history. We can s

t you after all of this?" My voice was low, trembling with suppressed fury. "You lied, you cheated, you stole from me, you manufactured yo

t live like this!" She rose from the chair, swaying dramatically, clutching her arm. "Look! My arm! I did this to myself just thinking about i

angerous edge. "Fifty thousand, Hayleigh. I'll give you fifty thousand dollars. Right now. Just sign a statement saying you fabricated the claims against Britney and you'll disappear qu

sgust was a bitter taste in my mouth. "You think a paltry sum, earned by my own sweat and t

" he pleaded, his voice rising. "This is everyth

voice hollow. "Not a con artist who used me as his person

ay hardball? So be it." He made a call, his words clipped and cold. "Get it ready. The pictures. The videos. Everything. Leak it

ents we'd shared, private, vulnerable. He was going to us

andaged ankle forgotten as a primal fe

bbed each of my arms, pinning me to the floor. The pain in my ankle was ex

their hold, tears streaming down my face. "

tching from the armchair, smiled thinly through her feign

chillingly detached. "When she picked a fight with

en, terrifying silence. The men held me down, their grip like iron bands, until the sound of Angel's car driving away faded into the distance. Then, they rel