Chapter 5
The house was quiet, everyone crashed for the night. The hallway to the front door was barely lit by a pair of flickering nightlights.
Jason tiptoed toward the foyer when the living room lights blazed on, stopping him cold.
“Where you sneaking off to at this ungodly hour?” Madge appeared, arms crossed, her tone equal parts nosy and suspicious. “What’s so pressing you’re bailing on Nadia?”
Jason’s hand clamped around his phone, his body aching but his poker face intact.
Madge might be a softie, but she could sniff out nonsense and knew what mattered. If he spun a work excuse, she’d probably let it slide.
“I” he started, but Nadia came stumbling down the stairs, and his expression froze over.
Nadia nearly ate it on the steps, scrambling to pull her hair into a messy bun.
She slowed when she saw Madge, catching her breath.“Madge, it’s my brother. He’s in rough shape. The hospital needs me there, like, now.”
Madge’s face softened, worry creasing her brow. “Oh, honey, that’s terrible. You two get going. Jason, step on it, but don’t do anything stupid, got it?”
Nadia’s eyes darted to Jason by the door, his face darker than a thundercloud, like he was terrified she’d spill his secrets.
‘He’s got no shame, but I’ve got standards,’ she thought.
“Let’s move,” she mumbled, dreading what came next.
Madge waved them out, and Nadia grudgingly slid into Jason’s car. “Look, I’m not hitching a ride with you. Drop me at the corner.”
Jason let out a harsh chuckle. “So ticked off you’re spinning yarns about your brother just to ditch in the middle of the night?”
Nadia stared out the window, exhaustion and hurt settling like lead in her chest.
Even if she swore up and down that Pat was in trouble, Jason wouldn’t bat an eye. To him, she was just his dead–weight wife.
They drove in stony silence. When they hit a spot where she could grab a cab, Nadia bailed and hightailed it to the hospital.
“How’s my brother?” she gasped, heart hammering as she cornered the doctor.
The doctor’s face was all bad news. “Three years in a coma. His systems are shutting down. You need to steel yourself.”
Nadia’s hands shook so bad it took three tries to dial her father, Hubert. “Pat’s in the ER.”
Hubert’s voice was pure ice. “Call me when there’s something concrete.”
“You skip this, you might not see him again.”
“Doctors love their drama. They’ve been doom–and–gloom for years, and he’s still here.” Hubert pivoted like it was nothing. “So, you bring up Woodward’s Sugar Nest for the Skyline Trade Plaza deal with Jason or what?”
Nadia’s chest felt like it was being crushed, each breath a fight. “He said he’d think about it.”
The line went dead quiet. Hubert always got his way because Jason jumped at Nadia’s every request.
“Think about it” was just her cover to drag him to the hospital.
“Nadia, don’t let your heart screw this up. Pat’s in pain like that–don’t you get it?” Hubert’s voice turned silky, manipulative as ever. “He wanted to bow out with some dignity. You’re spitting on his wishes.”
Nadia hung up, clutching her phone so tight her knuckles glowed white as she collapsed onto a hospital bench.
1/3
1158 AM &
Chapter 3
That same year, Hubert tried to remarry, but Nadia shut it down, saying it was too soon. Three years later, he tried again, and
she still said hell no.
She knew Hubert was already cozy with some money–hungry woman who’d never care about Pat. A week after their last blowout, Pat got into a car crash. He pulled through, but his legs were toast.
Hubert acted like his son didn’t exist after that. Nadia balanced college and caregiving, holding onto the dream of graduating, landing a job, and giving Pat the life he deserved.
But on her graduation day, Pat tried to check out for good by jumping off a building.
If she hadn’t married Jason and pleaded with him to spare no expense to save her brother, Hubert would’ve yanked the plug without a second thought.
Jason had been footing Pat’s medical bills ever since. If she ever left him, Pat would be hung out to dry, and Hubert wouldn’t even pretend to care anymore.
In the City Hospital, Jason stepped out of the elevator and spotted Abby’s agent Ivory Jenning pacing outside her room, looking like she was about to lose it.
“What’s the deal?” Jason asked, voice low and steady.
“A few dumb photos, that’s all,” Ivory said. “But Abby’s been a wreck since noon, hasn’t eaten a thing. I had to practically grovel to get her to call you, and now she’s kicking herself for it, crying her eyes out. I’ve tried everything, man, she’s not budging.”
Inside, Abby sat on the edge of the bed, her back to the door, thinking her agent had walked in.
She was sobbing, waving a shaky hand. “Just leave me alone, okay? I’ll deal with this mess myself. Don’t drag Jason into it. He’s married now–his wife’s gonna flip if she catches wind of this.”
Her voice broke, tears streaming down her face, her thin frame hunched like she might crumble. “Back then, I ran off to another country. Sure, there were reasons, but I was too chicken to fight for us. That’s on me. He’s got a wife now, a solid life. I can’t be the one to mess that up. So, here’s what you do call the press and tell them…”
She turned, and her breath hitched when she saw Jason standing there. Her face crumpled, raw and vulnerable. “Jason, I didn’t think you’d actually come.”
Jason’s jaw was tight, his tall frame looming over her. “What’s going on, Abby?”
“It’s no big deal. I can handle it,” she said, brushing it off with a weak shrug.
“Not exactly ‘no big deal,” Ivory piped up, lingering by the door. “That crash yesterday? It caused a bus to flip over. A pregnant woman on board didn’t get help in time, and… she lost her baby.
“The media caught wind that Abby was hurt, showed up here, saw she’s just got a little cut on her forehead, and now they’re saying she used her star power to snag VIP treatment, which screwed over that poor woman.”
Jason’s eyes darkened, a flicker of anger tightening his brow.
“Out,” Abby snapped at Ivory. Then, softer, to Jason, “Jason, I’ll go public, say sorry, do whatever it takes. I’ve got this. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Is there anything else you haven’t told me?” Jason’s voice was like ice, slicing through the room.
“Nothing… that’s all, I swear.”
“Spill it.”
Abby hesitated, glancing at the door. Ivory shuffled back in, looking like a kid caught sneaking cookies. “The press got shots of you carrying Abby, staying by her bed all night.
“They’re spinning it like she staged the whole crash to play the damsel, win you back. Word’s going around you two are about to drop an engagement announcement.”
11:35 AM
Chapter 5
Jason’s jaw ticked, a faint flush creeping up his neck, but his face stayed locked down, unreadable.
Abby, unsure how to gauge him, treaded lightly. “If this whole thing tanks my career, maybe it’s just the universe giving me what I deserve. I’ll take the hit.”
Jason pulled a lighter from his pocket, flipping it in his hand.
Click. The flame sparked, then vanished. The faint glow danced across his sharp features, making him look cold and distant.
After a long, heavy silence, he spoke, voice hard. “Abby, you wanted the spotlight, so act like it.
“Don’t go doing something boneheaded on a whim and torch everything you’ve busted your ass for.”
Abby froze, the words hitting like a slap. She’d thought he’d rushed over in the middle of the night because he still damn.
gave a
20
Back in the day, if she so much as complained her tea was too hot, he’d pour it between cups to cool it down, making sure she was taken care of.
Tonight? No warmth, just a cold, hard lecture.
“Jason…” Her voice wobbled, small and hurt. “You mad I asked you to come? I just wanted to apologize to your face. I didn’t know it’d blow up like this…”
Jason shoved the lighter back in his pocket. “Hand over your dashcam footage to the press. If you’re clean, it’ll prove it.”
He turned and strode out, his shadow swallowing the hallway. A pillow flew across the room, smacking Ivory dead in the chest.
“I told you he’d see right through this!” Abby hissed, her voice sharp with frustration. “Now what? How am I supposed to get close to him after this?”
Ivory hugged the pillow, muttering under her breath. “You should’ve gone for the heartstrings. Told him you’ve been pining for him all these years, that seeing him again threw you off your game and caused the crash. Play up the romance, you know? He’d have eaten it up.”
Abby let out a bitter scoff, her gaze drifting to some far–off place. “Words don’t mean shit. You weren’t in that ambulance. I told him I was freezing, begged him to hold me tighter, and he didn’t even flinch.”
ivory stood there, dumbfounded. “But after you left, didn’t he drown himself in whiskey? That’s how Nadia swooped in and got her hooks in him, right?”
Abby’s eyes turned distant, heavy with secrets. What really went down back then… it wasn’t the story everyone thought they knew.
