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“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to do. And I was afraid I’d get in trouble.” She swipes at a stray tear, her chest blotchy and red.

Under different circumstances, I would have been more sympathetic to her distress, but knowing I could have lost him in an entirely different way makes it hard to feel anything but anger.

A brush of Levi’s fingers against my hand pulls me back from the dark spiral of thoughts. I’m not sure if the touch was intentional or accidental, but the contact is enough to make me take a calming breath.

“Why did you hand over your phone in the first place? Why even bother being her friend? ” I ask once the tension in the room simmers down.

Kristen releases a shaky breath, clinging tighter to her books. The silence stretches on for a beat too long, and when I think she’s done with this conversation, she begins to explain.

“Sadie’s family is wealthy, and my mom has worked as their housekeeper for years.

We weren’t close growing up, but her parents were kind to my mother,” she says, sounding defeated.

“They offered to pay my tuition as a thank-you for my mom’s hard work.

Unfortunately, that meant going where Sadie went, but I didn’t mind.

Like I said, we weren’t close, so I had no idea what kind of person she was.

But I quickly learned how manipulative she could be.

If I didn’t do what she wanted, she’d threaten to make up lies about me to her dad and get him to pull my tuition. ”

My initial anger eases slightly as I listen to her story. I can’t imagine sharing something so private with people I hardly know.

“I’m sorry she’s been holding that over you,” I say, meaning it.

She was just another pawn in Sadie’s game, and no one deserves to be treated that way. I can understand why she felt she had no choice but to go along with it. I don’t know if I would have done the same in her shoes, but I can at least sympathize.

“Where is Sadie now?” Levi asks.

He looks and sounds much calmer than he did earlier, and I can’t help but wonder what he’s making of all of this.

“She left this morning,” Kristin replies. “Went home to New York, and as far as I know, she’s finishing the semester online.”

I turn my attention back to Kristen. “ What? Why?”

After everything, she just up and left? That doesn’t exactly seem like her style. There’s no way she’d pass up the opportunity to rub what she did in my face.

“Because I threatened to expose what she did at the party,” Kristen explains. “My part in this wasn’t by choice, but that doesn’t mean I think she should keep getting away with horrible things.”

I’m relieved she left. Good riddance. But knowing what’s at stake for Kristin makes this whole thing more complicated.

“What about your tuition?” I ask.

“I worked hard to get my grades up and applied for a scholarship through the school. It got approved on Monday.” She sounds resigned, and I can only imagine how much that must have weighed on her, knowing the freedom it could bring.

“That’s also when I told Sadie to either fix what she did or I’d tell the school and her parents everything. ”

So, if what she’s saying is true, Sadie took the coward's way out and left instead of taking responsibility for the emotional damage she caused—typical.

An alarm echoes through the empty room, and Kristin pulls out her phone to silence the noise.

“I need to go, or I’ll miss my next class,” she explains, pocketing her phone.

“Of course, thank you for being honest with us,” Levi says, stepping aside so he’s not blocking her way out.

“I’m sorry it went this far,” she says softly.

With those parting words, she hurries out of the room. But I’m not far behind.

Telling Levi I’ll be right back, I quickly catch up to her just as she disappears around a corner.

“Kristin, wait up.” I grab hold of her arm. The moment she turns, I let go and take a step back. “Sorry. I have one more question.”

It’s the only one I wasn’t comfortable asking with Levi present. I don’t want to ask. But I have to—for his sake and mine.

“What?” She glances around nervously, but everyone is too engrossed in their conversations to pay us attention.

“Did it go any further?” I ask, swallowing thickly. “The video, I mean. Is there more to it?”

My heart pounds wildly as I wait for her answer.

When recognition dawns on her face, she looks as sick as I feel at the implication of my question.

“No, I promise. What you saw is all that happened. Sadie airdropped the entire thing to my phone, and there wasn’t more to it.”

I nod, my body sagging in relief. Saying nothing more, I turn and head back the way I came.

Levi is still waiting in the room, and I rush to close the space between us. My lungs expand, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I can finally breathe again.

“How are you so calm about everything?” I mumble against his chest.

I thought he’d have a much stronger reaction after hearing the truth, but he seemed more in control than I was during our conversation with Kristen.

“Because her plan failed,” he replies without missing a beat. “She lost Bear. I still have you, and that’s all that matters to me.”

I blink up at him, tears clouding my vision.

“But it nearly didn’t. I nearly—”

“Don’t do that.” His voice is firm, but those amber eyes boring into mine are soft and light. “I can handle the truth of what Kristin said, but I can’t handle you blaming yourself when none of this was your fault. There’s no outcome where Sadie gets to win.”

“You’re right.” I muster up a watery smile. “But that goes for you as well. You can’t blame yourself. I want to move forward—with you by my side.”

His features soften further. “I think after all of this, we deserve our forever after.”

“Forever after, huh? Sounds like you’re saying you want to keep me around for a very long time and then some.” My smile grows as I think about how promising a future with Levi sounds.

It always sounded good, but after it was nearly ripped away from us, there’s no doubt he’s the one I want to face every unknown with. Speed bumps and hurdles are part of life, but the journey doesn’t feel as scary with him by my side.

He cups my cheek gently, running his thumb over my lower lip. “The day I met you, I knew I wasn’t letting you go.”

“I’m glad you held on tight,” I whisper.

“Thank fuck.” He grins, dropping his head to mine.

Soft lips capture mine, and I melt into his kiss.

“I think you still owe me a birthday present.” I joke when we come up for air.

“You’re right. Come over tonight, and you can unwrap it.”

I groan. “We don’t have a great track record when it comes to waiting. Maybe you should give it to me now.”

He chuckles, and my insides melt at the sound. “Trust me, Teddy Bear, next time someone tries to come between us, they better be prepared to kill me.”

I bite my lip, knowing he’s not joking. Maybe there’s something wrong with me for loving it. If those words came from anyone else they’d scare me off— but this is Levi we’re talking about. I think by now it’s clear that I don’t scare easily when it comes to him and me.

Not anymore.