The Look That Breaks Me

I didn't go back to my apartment.

I couldn't.

Not when every street felt like it was watching me.

Not when every passing glance felt like a whisper behind my back.

The news was everywhere.

My name. Ethan's. The scandal.

And worst of all?

Jax had done it.

Not to expose Ethan.

Not to ruin him.

But to send a message.

To remind me that I wasn't just running from one man.

I was trapped between two.

And now?

I didn't know which one scared me more.

Tessa had given me a number.

A name.

A meeting time.

But as I stood outside the old, abandoned bar on the far edge of town, I wondered if this was a mistake.

The place looked forgotten.

A remnant of something that had been left to rot.

And yet?

Someone was inside.

I could see the faint flicker of a cigarette through the broken window.

A shadow shifting behind the glass.

Waiting.

For me.

I took a slow breath.

And stepped inside.

The smell of stale smoke clung to the air.

The bar was empty except for one man sitting in the corner.

A stranger.

Yet somehow, not.

His face was rough, aged by time and bad decisions.

His hands rested on the table, slow, calculated.

And when his eyes met mine?

I froze.

Because I had seen that look before.

That knowing stare.

That quiet kind of power.

And suddenly?

I wasn't sure if I had walked into a meeting.

Or a trap.

"You're late," the man said.

His voice was low, gravely, edged with something that made my skin prickle.

I swallowed hard. "I wasn't sure I was coming."

He chuckled, slow and amused.

"But you're here."

I nodded, forcing myself to meet his gaze.

"Who are you?"

The man exhaled, flicking ash from his cigarette.

"The only person willing to tell you the truth."

My stomach twisted.

I knew this was dangerous.

I knew I shouldn't trust him.

But I had to know.

I had to know what Jax had done.

What Ethan had traded.

What game I had been pulled into without even realizing.

The man leaned forward.

"You think Ethan made that deal to save himself?"

I didn't answer.

Because I already knew the truth.

No.

He hadn't done it for himself.

He had done it for me.

And yet, somehow, that made it worse.

Because I never asked him to.

And now?

I was paying the price.

The man watched me carefully.

"Jax wanted you exposed."

I nodded. "I figured."

"But not for the reason you think."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

He exhaled, taking a slow drag of his cigarette before speaking.

"He didn't do it to destroy you."

He tapped his fingers against the table.

"He did it to keep you."

The room spun.

I shook my head, my pulse skidding.

"That doesn't make sense."

The man smiled. But it wasn't kind.

"It does if you understand one thing."

I swallowed.

And then—

He said the words that shattered everything.

"You were never Ethan's to begin with."

I sat there; my entire body numb.

I didn't want to believe it.

I couldn't.

But something about the way the man looked at me—like he felt sorry for me—

Broke me.

Because it was true.

Jax hadn't let Ethan walked free as a favor.

He hadn't even done it to watch Ethan burn.

He had done it to claim me.

Like I was nothing more than a possession.

A debt.

A trade.

And Ethan?

Ethan had known.

Ethan had let it happen.

I pushed back from the table, my breath uneven.

"I need to go."

The man nodded.

But as I stood, he said something that made my chest tighten.

"There's one more thing you should know."

I hesitated.

Waited.

And then—

"The deal?" he said.

"It hasn't been completed yet."

My blood ran cold.

"What?"

The man exhaled.

"You still have time."

I swallowed hard.

"To do what?"

His lips curled into something dark.

"To stop it."

I stumbled outside; my breath ragged.

My heart slamming against my ribs.

The world felt too big.

Too loud.

I had spent so long trying to decide between Ethan and freedom.

But now?

Now I realized that was never my choice.

Because I was never free.

Not from Ethan.

Not from Jax.

Not from the deal that had been written in my name.

And the worst part?

I still didn't know how it ended.

I still didn't know what I was supposed to do.

I pulled out my phone.

Stared at the screen.

Two names.

Two people who had destroyed me in different ways.

One of them had sold me.

The other had bought me.

And now?

Now I had to choose which one I confronted first.

My fingers hovered over Ethan's number.

Then Jax's.

I inhaled sharply.

And then—

I made the call.

Liv learns the truth—Jax leaked the story to keep her, not ruin her.

The deal isn't over, which means Liv still has a chance to stop it.

The final choice—who does she go to first, Ethan or Jax?

Liv confronts the man who took everything from her.