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Then again.

I groan and reach blindly into my clutch. I’m half-tempted to ignore it, but when I see the text lighting up on my screen, everything inside me ices over.

Griffin.

I swipe the screen open, already bracing for the worst.

Saw the post Aurora shared.

Let me guess…that bastard played you and now you’re fucking him?

I’m gonna rip that motherfucker’s head off.

My breath punches out of me in one hard, shuddering exhale.

I blink. Read it again. It doesn’t change.

“Kat?” Liam’s voice cuts through the fog. “You okay?”

He knows.

Or at least—he thinks he does. And with Griffin? That’s enough.

“Kat?” Liam’s voice is low, concerned. “What is it?”

I can’t even look at him. I’m gripping the phone like it might disintegrate in my hand.

Griffin, who’s never been just my brother—he’s my protector, my shadow, the steel I hide behind… and my biggest oppressor.

How will he look at me now?

Not as a woman in love.

Not as someone who finally reached for something that made her feel whole.

No—he’ll see me as the weak little sister who got duped by his enemy.

And Liam?

He won’t just be the guy I fell for.

He’ll be a target.

Of my brother’s rage.

Of the league’s gossip.

Of every single headline just waiting to explode.

“Kat,” Liam says again, touching my knee.

I finally meet his eyes.

“He knows,” I whisper. “And he’s coming for you.”

The silence that follows is loaded, electric.

And I realize in that moment—we’re not just playing with fire.