Get it together, Mira. This is not helping.

With shaking fingers, I unlock my phone and call Griffin.

It goes straight to voicemail. I know his battery was low, but he promised not to use it so he could get in contact with me.

It hasn’t been long enough for the thing to die.

So why isn’t he answering? When his voicemail message plays in my ear, I let out a frustrated little growl, hang up, and try again.

Straight to voicemail. Again.

This time, I leave a message. I hate the way my voice shakes. Hate the way it feels like everything inside of me shakes as I push through the arena doors and stumble outside into the cold.

“Griffin? Where are you? I’m done with my meeting.

I… You weren’t here. Are you okay? Did something happen?

How am I supposed to know where you are or if you’re okay if you don’t answer your phone?

” Glancing up at the darkening sky, I shiver as wind whips through my hair and bites my skin through my coat.

The weather is taking a turn for the cold and gloomy, matching my mood.

And making my worry increase. “Just… Call me when you get this. Please be okay.”

Unable to sit still, I pace the area outside of the arena while I stare at my phone. Five minutes go by, then ten, then twenty. It’s freezing, and I can’t stand out in this cold anymore. I order a ride back to the hotel because I don’t know what else to do. Maybe they’ll have a message from him?

By the time I get back to the hotel, I’m practically vibrating with worry, and it only increases when the front desk tells me they don’t have any messages from my husband.

Hurrying to our room, I throw the door open but find the suite empty.

Griffin’s bags are still here, so I know he hasn’t left, but he’s not here.

“What if he’s hurt?” I tug at my hair, pacing the room. “What if he’s hurt and I’m not there?”

My phone vibrates in my hand, and all the air leaves my chest in a whoosh . It has to be Griffin.

Except, it’s not.

Lexi

I thought Griffin was done with the hookup stuff? He better not be ditching you for random women while you’re on this trip together.

Bile rises in my throat. What? Why would she say something like that?

Lexi

The stupid Rogues’ fan sites are all speculating because he hasn’t been pictured with a woman like this in months.

What is she talking about? My pulse roars in my ears and my hands shake as I type out a response.

Me

What do you mean he’s been pictured with a woman?

Lexi

Is he with you?

No. I don’t know where he is. He was supposed to be at that meeting with me, but he never showed. IDK if he’s hurt or if something happened… What photo are you talking about, Lexi?

Shit. I wasn’t trying to upset you. I just thought he was done with the random hookups and wondered what the deal was.

The photo, Lexi. Show me the damn photo.

My heart plummets to the ugly carpet floor a moment later when the photo comes through.

It’s a shot of Griffin and some pretty blonde woman.

His arm is around her shoulders, and she’s looking up at him like he’s her knight in shining armor.

He’s staring down at her with a look of genuine concern.

Neither seems aware that they’re being photographed.

This can’t be happening .

It can’t be what it looks like.

Me

Where did you see that photo, Lex?

Lexi

It popped up on social media. On one of the Rogues’ fan sites I follow to make sure the women don’t get all gross about Ryder.

When?

Five minutes ago.

Five minutes ago. This photo was posted five minutes ago, which means it can’t have been taken too long before that. Which means Griffin was more than likely with this woman when he promised he’d be with me at my pitch. The one he secured for me. The one with his old coach.

My throat feels like it’s closing. My eyes tear up. And my heart squeezes painfully in my chest. Then my mouth waters and bile rises up my throat. I barely make it into the bathroom in time to puke my guts up. All the while, my phone buzzes with incoming messages from Lexi.

Lexi

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation. Griffin cares about you. He would never miss something important if he promised to be there. Not without a good excuse. I just thought it was weird after the stuff he’s said lately.

Are you okay?

Am I okay?

Not even close.

Even though I’m terrified of what he’ll say if he answers, I call Griffin one more time. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or furious when it goes straight to voicemail.

He ditched me. He made a promise that he’d be there, and he broke it. For some blonde woman with legs for days. He set this whole thing up, then couldn’t even be bothered to show. After telling me he loves me.

What a fucking joke.

I should have known all of this was too good to be true. Should have known he’d disappoint me. Just like my dad. Just like every other man in my life, outside of my brother.

Tears blur my vision as I pull up the airline app.

I’m not thinking straight, I know I’m not, but my mind and body are telling me to flee, to run away, to get as far away from Griffin Wright as I can so he can’t hurt me anymore today.

In minutes, I’ve changed my flight to the first available out of Michigan, and then I make the call I’m dreading more than anything in the world.

He picks up on the third ring.

“Hey, Mi-Mi. How’s it going, squirt?”

“Maddy?” There’s no hiding the tremor in my voice, or the thick, sticky quality of my words. And if all that isn’t bad enough, I hiccup a sob at the end of his name.

Instantly in full protector mode, Maddox asks, “Mira? What’s wrong? Are you okay? Where are you?” His concern for me nearly rips me in half.

“Can I stay with you and Isla for a while?”

Heavy silence falls over the line, and then my brother’s voice takes on a brutal quality that would be terrifying if it wasn’t in defense of me. “What the fuck did Wright do?”

“I can’t—I don’t… Just, can you pick me up from the airport in three hours? Please?”

“Of course, Mi-Mi. Of course I can. Are you okay?”

Maddox growls when I sob through the phone.

“No, I don’t think I am. But I will be.”

Somehow, I will be.

I just need to hold it together long enough to get out of here and home to Maddox. Then I can let myself break. Then I can figure out what in the hell happened. Then I can tell my brother about my stupid, drunken marriage to his best friend.

And once I’ve done all that, I’ll file for divorce and never, ever let myself do something so life-alteringly stupid. Ever again.