Page 49 of Check & Chase (Breakaway #1)
My stomach drops as I tap the alert, opening a gossip site with a blurry photo of Chase and Carina arguing in what looks like the parking lot of Bistro Moderne.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter, scanning the brief article that turns my blood to ice water.
“What?” Maya asks, alerted by my tone.
I show her the phone, watching her face mirror my own horror. “He said he wouldn’t confront her.”
I dial Chase’s number, blood boiling with renewed fury. It goes straight to voicemail, which only makes things worse.
“Damn it!”
“Maybe it’s not what it looks like,” she suggests, though she doesn’t sound convinced.
“It’s exactly what it looks like,” I say, grabbing my keys. “He went straight from promising not to confront her to doing exactly that. At a public restaurant, where anyone could take photos. During an ethics investigation!”
“Where are you going?”
“To find my idiot boyfriend before he completely destroys both our careers.”
The drive to Chase’s house feels both too long and too short, fury and fear fueling me in equal measure. By the time I pull into his driveway, some of my initial rage has cooled, replaced by a deeper hurt that cuts more sharply than anger ever could.
He opens the door before I can knock, looking remorseful and haggard. His hair is a mess, and there’s a tension in his shoulders I’ve never seen before, like he’s carrying the weight of the world and it’s slowly crushing him.
“I’m sorry,” he blurts before I can say anything.
“You promised.” I brush past him into the house, needing space to process his betrayal.
“I know.” He trails after me into the living room like a lost puppy. “But I had to do something, Emma. I couldn’t just sit back while she fucked with your job.”
“So instead you created a public scene that will only make things worse?” I turn to face him, arms crossed defensively. “Do you have any idea how this looks?”
“I don’t care how it looks,” he snaps, his own frustration finally showing. “I care about the truth.”
“The truth doesn’t matter if no one believes it! This isn’t a game, Chase. This is my career—everything I’ve worked for since my skating accident!”
He flinches as if I’ve struck him. “I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Clearly.” I drop onto the couch, suddenly drained of all energy. “What did you even say to her?”
He sinks down beside me, leaving careful space between us. “I asked her to retract the complaint. Told her I knew she was behind it. That her vendetta against us was pathetic.”
“And how did that go?”
“About as well as you’d expect.” He scrubs a hand down his face, looking older than his years. “She laughed in my face. Told me I deserved everything coming to me—and that you were just collateral damage.”
“Great. So you accomplished nothing except making her more determined.” I shake my head, exhaustion settling into my bones. “This is exactly why I asked you not to confront her. You can’t bully your way out of every situation.”
“I know that,” he mutters. “But you don’t understand what it’s like for me, sitting on the sidelines while someone tries to destroy what matters most to me. ”
“What matters most to you?”
“You. Us. Your happiness.”
The raw honesty breaks through some of my anger, revealing the fear and love underneath his reckless actions.
“My career is part of my happiness, Chase. A big part. And right now, it’s in jeopardy because of our relationship.”
“Are you saying you regret it?” His voice drops, fear flickering in his eyes. “Being with me?”
“No.” I hold his gaze, needing him to understand. “But I am saying we need to be smarter. No more rogue missions. We do this together, by the book.”
He nods slowly, something settling in his expression. “Okay. Together.”
“Promise me.” I need to hear the words, need something concrete to hold onto. “Promise you won’t go off on your own again.”
“I promise,” he says, steady and sure. “No more solo crusades.”
I study his face, searching for any hesitation. When I find none, I finally exhale, the tension easing just a little.
“She won’t stop,” I murmur, the reality of our situation settling over me. “Carina. She’s determined to hurt us.”
“I know.” He reaches for my hand, and this time I let him take it. “But we’ll face her. The right way.”
A tear slips down my cheek as the weight of everything catches up to me. “What if I lose my job? What if she succeeds?”
“She won’t,” he replies with fierce conviction. “The truth is on our side, Emma. And even if the worst happens—we’ll figure it out. Together.”
I lean into him, allowing myself to draw strength from his certainty despite my lingering anger about his impulsive confrontation.
“I’m scared,” I admit in a whisper. “Everything I’ve worked for since the accident… it could all disappear because of one spiteful person’s lies. ”
He wraps his arms around me, pulling me close against his chest where I can hear his heartbeat, steady and strong. “I won’t let that happen,” he murmurs into my hair. “I swear to you, Emma. We’ll get through this.”
I want to believe him. More than anything, I want to believe that love conquers all, that the good guys win in the end, that our story will have a happy ending.
But as I sit in his arms, the reality settles over me. This isn’t a fairy tale with clear winners and losers. This is my life, my career, hanging in the balance because I dared to fall in love with the right man at the wrong time.
And for the first time since we decided to make our relationship real, I wonder if we’ve made a terrible mistake.