Page 27 of Broken Empire
“Okay,” I said listlessly.
He opened up the briefcase, pulled out my phone, and unlocked the screen. “Here it is. She texted you back saying:Hey babe, I’m so sorry things have been so rough for you lately. I knew it was bad but I didn’t realize you were struggling so much. I hate the thought of you being alone, and I hate not being able to see you or talk to you, but I want to support you, so if that’s what you need right now, I understand. Take all the time you need to heal, and please let me know if I can help in any way. Love you so much and can’t wait to see you again.”
I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, imagining how sad Cori would be when I didn’t return. She’d probably always wonder if it was partially her fault; wonder if she wasn’t a good enough friend to me.
“What about Killian?” I asked. “Does he believe I actually left him?”
“Yes,” Robert said in a smug tone. “I was quite convincing.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. If Killian genuinely believed that I’d ditched him and didn’t want to be found by anyone, then that meant he wasn’t looking for me.
No one was.
“I’ll show you what I said to him,” Robert went on. “I think I managed to make myself sound just like you.”
He tapped at the phone screen for a few seconds, and then he cleared his throat and spoke up again. “Okay, this is what I sent to him.Hi, Killian. Sorry, I know you’ve been trying to reach me all night but I’ve had some things to sort out. I really don’t know how to tell you this, because you’ve been so wonderful to me, but I just can’t do it anymore. Too much has happened lately. I need to get out of the city and get some space, and I have to do it alone. Not sure how long it’ll take for me to feel normal again. I promise this isn’t about you. You’re amazing and you did nothing wrong. It’s all me. I hope you understand, and I’m so sorry for leaving you out of the blue like this. I really didn’t want to, but I’m just not brave enough to say any of this stuff to your face. Please don’t worry about me. I promise I’ll be fine on my own. I love you – S.”
My brows shot up as Robert read the end of the message to me. A tiny glimmer of hope was suddenly flaring inside me.
I’d never told Killian I loved him before, and it would be weird to say it for the first time in an ‘I’m dumping you’message. Surely Killian would have noticed how strange it was too.
“Did he reply?” I asked, skin prickling with anticipation.
Robert nodded. “Yes. I think he was quite upset by the whole thing, because it took him a whole day to do it.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much.”
He showed me the message thread on my phone screen. All that Killian had written back to me was ‘I love you too’.
“It’s a bit strange, isn’t it?” Robert went on. “I thought he’d have more to say, but that was it. I suppose he didn’t want to fight you and figured it was better to just let you go.”
The glimmer of hope inside me had ignited into a roaring flame. Killian’s response to the fake goodbye message had a subtext that was obvious only to me. It didn’t just mean ‘I love you’. It meant ‘I know you didn’t send that message. You’re in trouble, and I’m looking for you’.
Maybe I had a chance at escape after all. Maybe Killian would find me and save me yet again, and we’d finally have a chance to tell each other how we truly felt.
The thought made me giddy with hope and relief… but that feeling was short-lived.
“Do you want to hear the news now?” Robert said as he tucked my phone back into his case.
“What is it?” I asked, pulse picking up.
“There’s actually some good news and bad news. The good news is that your streams have been very popular over the last week. That means you’ve made PyotrTwoDelta a lot of money, and he’s quite pleased with you. We get a cut of that money, seeing as we host the red rooms, so we’re happy too.”
“Good for you,” I said in an acid tone. “What’s the bad news?”
“The incident yesterday seriously dampened your popularity with the viewers. No one wants to pay to see a girl vomit during a blowjob.”
“What does that mean for me?” I asked. My stomach was suddenly churning, and there was a sharp pain in my chest and throat. It was like my body knew something terrible was coming even though my mind hadn’t heard or comprehended it yet.
Robert raised his brows and rubbed his jaw. “Well… the bimonthly poll opened to the viewers earlier today, and it closed an hour ago. It doesn’t look good for you.”
My heart sank. “Just say it,” I said in a hollow voice. “Tell me how it went.”
“You won the vote, Shay.” Robert’s lips twisted into a nasty smile. “You’re leaving the Dollhouse.”
10
