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“He thinks you’ll impede Damon’s career. That you’ll mess with his chances of getting drafted.”

“Even if that’s true, Damon was already on the NFL’s radar. After winning the National Championship, he’s all but secured a career in football. There’s no reason to worry. No reason for Vinny to be worried or for him to hurt Damon?hurt us?like that.”

“You foolish girl.” My mother clucks. “So naive. You think love can conquer all, that it’s all you need. But your father’s career, the Astor family name, our legacy and financial security—thoseare real. Those things build a life. Not some romantic fantasy you’ve built up in your head.”

My hand tightens on the phone, and my knuckles turn white. “Maybe I don’t care about any of that. Maybe love is the only thing that matters.”

“Well, I’m glad you feel that way, Avery, because you might find out exactly what it’s like living without any of the things you’re accustomed to.”

“I already am,” I practically shout. “I’m paying my way at AAU. I’m working and?”

“Charging first-class flights to your father’s credit card?” she says, her tone smug. “Staying in the presidential suite at The Marlowe? Yeah, sounds like you’re really roughing it.”

Embarrassment blooms in my cheeks. Because she’s right. I can’t argue with that.

“Even if there’s truth to everything you’re saying, I made this decision for me. And I refuse to live my life based on some misguided fear that Vinny Huhn is going to ruin our lives, simply because he doesn’t like his son’s girlfriend.”

A bitter laugh trickles over the line. “The NFL commissioner’s daughter was dining in the atrium below the walkway when it collapsed, Ave. She was among the six dead.”

A cold rush surges through me, like all the air’s been vacuumed out of the room, and I can’t breathe.

My mother’s words settle in my chest like lead.

“The commissioner’s daughter?” I echo, barely recognizing my own voice, thin and brittle. “That can’t be true.” My voice is barely a whisper, and I sink onto the edge of the bed as I consider the implications.

Suddenly, everything makes a twisted kind of sense as the real missing puzzle piece falls into place.

This wasn’t just some misguided fear on Vinny’s part—it’s far more personal than that. The kind of personal that doesn’t fade with time or apologies.

My father’s mistake didn’t just kill six people. It killed the NFL commissioner’s daughter. It affected the person involved in league operations, player misconduct, penalties, and suspensions. A person who plays a major role in the draft.

All I can see is Damon, standing under those draft lights with the weight of my last name wrapped around his ankles like chains.

It won’t matter how good he is. It won’t matter what he’s overcome or how hard he’s worked. If this scandal about myfather breaks, all the commissioner will see is the boyfriend of the girl whose family destroyed his.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” I whisper, stunned.

“Would you have believed me?” Her voice sounds tired now, less accusatory. “Would it have made a difference?”

I don’t answer, because I honestly don’t know. Would I have given Damon up for good if I’d known this? Or would I have thought that my mother was just spinning tales to keep us apart?

The truth is, it doesn’t matter. I’m already back in this place where both our hearts are on the line.

“I need to go,” I say finally.

“Avery, wait—”

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I say and end the call before she can say anything else.

I stare at the wall, my thoughts a jumbled mess as I think of everything she just told me.

Is she telling the truth? Or is this just another one of her manipulations, a way to get what she wants?

I want to tell myself it’s the latter, that my parent’s fear is misguided and unfounded. But the truth, one I don’t want to admit, settles inside my chest like a stone.

Chapter 30

DAMON