Page 20 of Undisputed Player
One moment of weakness, one lapse in judgment, and I could lose everything that mattered.
Jax Easton might have looked at me like I was worth something, but I knew better.
Rich men didn't see women like me; they saw challenges, novelties, temporary distractions from lives of privilege and excess. They tookwhat they wanted and left destruction in their wake, never looking back to count the casualties.
I'd bet my last dollar he was already back in his beach house with some supermodel, while I was still here, counting pennies and checking security cameras, praying the lawyer would accept a payment plan.
The thought of him forgetting me should have been comforting, but it left a hollow ache in my chest that I refused to examine too closely.
I brushed a kiss against Leo's forehead before retreating to my own room, leaving the door cracked so I could hear him if he called out.
I collapsed onto my bed fully clothed, too tired to bother changing or showering. The ceiling above me was a roadmap of water stains, proof of the neglect I'd memorized during countless sleepless nights. I traced them with my eyes, trying not to linger on the memories they triggered.
But somehow, instead of Giselle's face, I saw blue eyes again. Heard my name spoken like it was something valuable.
I rolled onto my side, burying my face in the pillow that smelled like discount laundry detergent.
Tomorrow would bring another day of remote tutoring sessions squeezed between Leo's breakfast and dinner, another voicemail from the lawyer about the retainer, and another three days closer to rent being due.
These were the things I should be thinking about. These were the problems that needed solving.
Not the ridiculous fantasy of what it would be like to have Jax Easton look at me and see someone worth pursuing.
I knew better. I'd always known better.
In the darkness, listening to Leo's steady breathing through the thin walls, I imagined what it would feel like not to be so alone. To have someone strong enough to share the weight I carried, someone who could look at my life and not see failure but possibility.
Someone who could say my name like it mattered.
The fantasy was dangerous, intoxicating in its sweetness. It made me want things I couldn't have, made me forget why wanting was a luxury I couldn't afford.
It made me remember what it felt like to be a woman instead of just a guardian, a survivor, a warrior fighting a battle she might not win.
No matter how perfect Jax Easton seemed. No matter how he'd said my name, no matter how desperately I sometimes wished for a different life, a different story, a different ending, I knew better.
I rolled over again, pulling the thin blanket up to my chin like armor against my own traitorous thoughts.
He was bad news. Rich, beautiful, dangerous bad news.
And I learned my lesson about men who seemed too good to be true.
And that lesson had cost me my sister.
CHAPTER THREE
Estelle
The apartment was quiet in the way only early Saturday mornings could be, wrapped in that fragile hush before the city remembered how to scream.
Pale sunlight filtered through the single window in my bedroom. The one that faced the brick wall of the building next door, instead of anything resembling greenery.
My body ached with the exhaustion that had become my permanent state, a weight that settled into my bones like lead and refused to leave. Every muscle felt wrung out, stretched thin as the threadbare sheets tangled around my legs.
I lay there for an extra five minutes before I had to pretend I was strong enough for this.
Thankfully, it was Saturday, which meant I got to wake up at seven instead of five in the morning.
These two hours were mine. My reward for surviving another week of bus routes, legal threats, and the crushing weight of keeping us both alive.
