Page 129 of Money Reigns
My brain is too loud.
The image of her: tall, blonde, perfect, sitting in his office with the door shut. The clock ticking.Thirty minutes.
My stomach churns with every second I remember.
And then I hear it.
“Her name is Katya.”
My head snaps up, breath frozen in my chest. I wait for it. For the kill shot. For him to execute me right here in this glossy restaurant with nothing but the truth. To rip out my stupid heart for daring to believe I could be more than another girlfriend on his roster.
Katya.
Even her name is pretty. Sharp edges softened by silk.
I want to ask.
I want to demand.
Why didn’t you tell me you had an unscheduled meeting? Why did you call me yours all weekend if you already belonged to someone else? Why move me into your penthouse only to shred me with this?
But the words knot in my throat. The same knot that’s been strangling me since that door closed behind her.
So I swallow hard and manage the smallest sound.
“Oh.”
I go to lower my gaze, to hide before I break. But his voice slices through.
“Don’t.”
The command snaps my head back up. My eyes lock with his. His gaze is steady, dark, unflinching.
We’re in public. People are talking around us, glasses clinking, silverware scraping. I don’t want to cry here. Not where he can see it.
But he leans back, casual, controlled. Watching me unravel.
“You’re spiraling about her instead of just asking, aren’t you?”
The lump in my throat tightens. My chest constricts. I nod, small and weak.
His jaw ticks.
“Words.”
I shake my head once, because I can’t. I can’t breathe past it. The knot is suffocating me, choking me, and yet he sits there, calm, expectant, waiting.
The silence presses. I break.
My voice scrapes out, ragged. “Who is she… to you?”
And then he smiles.
It knocks the breath right out of me. He’s not angry. Not defensive. Just smiling like I passed some kind of test.
“Good,” he says.
Confusion rattles me.Good?
