Page 19 of Boards & Betrayal

I forced myself to breathe evenly, to not let the anger boil over. Ally deserved better than being caught in the crossfire between us.

And what the fuck did he mean, she owed him?

“Photos?” she repeated slowly.

“Yes,” Nick said, his tone insistent but not as harsh as before. “You’re the best photographer I know.”

Ally glanced at me, uncertainty clouding her features.

"How about you leave her the fuck alone?" I growled, my voice cutting through the tension like a knife.

Nick's eyes blazed with a familiar defiance. "You know, Dad," he spat, "Mom always said you never cared about anyone other than yourself. And yet…" His gaze flicked to Ally, and my stomach churned. "You need to get fucked, Dad. Literally. Get. Laid. Stay away from someone half your age?—"

"Nick!" Ally snapped, stepping forward. "You can't talk to your dad this way. I know what you're doing. You wanted to cause a scene. For what? To get him to react?"

Nick glared at her, his jaw tightening. "Ally," he warned, his voice low and menacing. "You better watch what you say, okay? You owe me. If you don't want him to know?—"

"Know?" I interrupted, looking between them both, my heart pounding in my chest. "Know what?"

Nick smirked, a cruel glint in his eyes. "Why don't you ask her?"

I turned to Ally, my mind racing with questions and doubts. But before I could say anything more, I looked back at Nick, feeling the rage bubble up inside me.

"Fuck off," I said through gritted teeth.

Nick’s smirk widened into something almost feral. "You're not going to?—"

I took a step forward, cracking my knuckles menacingly. "I said fuck off, Nick."

He hesitated for a moment, then scoffed. "You wouldn't?—"

"You know I would," I said coldly, my eyes narrowing. "You think I give a shit about this?" I gestured at the room around uswith disdain. "You know I don't. You either stop threatening her or I'll break your jaw."

"Your own son's jaw?" Nick challenged, but there was uncertainty in his voice now.

"Convenient," I drawled sarcastically. "You're my son when it's convenient."

Nick’s glare deepened as he looked back at Ally one last time. “I'll call you,” he muttered before storming out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind him, leaving a tense silence in his wake.

I turned to Ally, my chest heaving with barely contained fury and confusion. “What the hell was that about?”

Before she could answer, Kara walked back in with the trophy in her hands, her eyes darting between us suspiciously.

“What did I miss?” she asked brightly, oblivious to the storm that had just passed through the room.

I shook my head slightly and forced myself to calm down as much as possible, for Kara’s sake.

“Nothing,” I lied smoothly as I glanced back at Ally, whose eyes were still wide with shock and something else—something that looked like fear or regret.

“Let’s just finish this,” she muttered softly as she raised her camera again.

I nodded silently but couldn’t shake off the feeling that whatever had just happened was far from over.

Chapter 7

Ally

---