Page 79 of His Ruthless Match

A bone-deep satisfaction that made me feel like I could take on the world.

Except I couldn’t. Not yet.

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and flipped it off airplane mode. The screen lit up with a flood of messages, all from Genevieve.

Genevieve. Oh my god.

I scrambled out of bed and pulled on a robe, then slipped into the hallway. The TV was on in the living room. I turned the corner into the kitchen and nearly screamed when I saw Grelth standing on a barstool in front of my stove, spatula in hand.

“Grelth!” I clutched my chest. “What are you doing here?”

He didn’t even flinch, his wide-eyed gaze fixed on the TV. “Making breakfast and discovering the wonders of human technology. Look at this box! It turns on, and people talk through it. You wouldn’t believe the filth coming out of their mouths. It’s magnificent.”

He was watching an episode ofCheaters Revealed. A woman on screen was screaming at a man and brandishing her stiletto shoe like it was a weapon.

“I’ll never get used to you,” I muttered, shaking my head.

Grelth flipped a pancake with a flourish, still staring at the screen. “Nor I to your world, Miss Eva. But I must admit, this reality television is a stroke of genius.”

Shaking my head in disbelief, I made my way to my home gym. As soon as I’d closed the door behind me, I called Genevieve. To my surprise, she answered on the first ring.

“Where the fuck have you been?” I snapped, the worry and frustration of the last week spilling out.

Genevieve sobbed into the phone. “I don’t know. I don’t fucking know, Eva.”

She sounded broken, and that terrified me. “What do you mean you don’t know? Where are you right now?”

“I woke up in a hotel room,” she sobbed. “Not the one I was staying in before. I don’t even remember getting here.”

I dug my nails into my palm. “Why haven’t you answered my calls? My texts? You disappeared for over aweek, Genevieve, but you’ve been all over the internet. Do you have any idea what kind of mess you’ve made?”

“I didn’t… I don’t remember, Eva. I swear to God, I don’t remember. My last memory is of that man knocking you down and dragging me out of the hotel room.”

I stayed silent, letting her talk, and her sobs grew quieter as she continued.

“I… I woke up this morning and realized how much time has passed. It’s like it’s all gone, just blank. I don’t understand what’s happening. I don’t. Eva,” she gasped. “Please, you have to believe me. I didn’t do any of it. I swear to God, I didn’t leave the hotel. I didn’t…”

“Genevieve, slow down.” I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “You need to listen to me for a second, okay?”

“Okay.”

“There are photos,” I said gently. “Videos, too. You’re all over the blogs. Drunk. Half-dressed. Stumbling out of clubs, letting strangers put their hands all over you. You were recorded doing body shots at a place that I didn’t even know still existed.”

“No,” she breathed. “No. That’s not possible, Eva, I?—”

“I’m not accusing you,” I said quickly, “I’m just… telling you what’s out there. And what I’m having to fight off on your behalf.”

“I didn’t do those things. I wouldn’t.”

“I want to believe that,” I told her. And I meant it. “Because none of it makes sense. I’ve been with you through a lot of chaos, and this feels… wrong. Sloppy. Like someone wants you to unravel in public.”

“Because someonedoes,” she insisted. “Eva, someone is messing with me. I haven’t blacked out like that since college, and even then, I always knew when I’d fucked up. This time I don’t rememberanything. One minute I’m at the hotel I booked, the next I’m at a different hotel, and there are all these videos of me doing things Icouldn’thave done.”

I bit my bottom lip.

“I believe you,” I said finally. “At least, I believe you believe it.”

She was silent for a long time. Then, she whispered, “Thank you. I–I didn’t know if you’d even talk to me ever again.”