The Best Friend’s Rage

I stood on the sidewalk, my phone still clenched in my hand, my fingers hovering over Ethan's number.

Or Jax's.

Two names. Two men. Two choices I never wanted to make.

But before I could press call, my phone vibrated.

An incoming call.

Tessa.

I hesitated.

Then answered.

Before I could even say a word, her voice slammed into me.

"What the hell did you do?"

I blinked. "Tessa—"

"No." Her voice was sharp. Angry.

"I told you to walk away, Liv. I told you that if you stayed, you were on your own."

I swallowed hard. "I know."

"Then explain why I just got a call from my boss, telling me I've been pulled into your mess!"

My stomach dropped.

Her boss.

Her job.

The one thing she had worked for.

"Do you know what you've done?" she continued, her voice breaking with something I had never heard before.

Not fear.

Not worry.

Rage.

And suddenly, I realized—

This wasn't just about me anymore.

Jax hadn't just dragged me into the fire.

He had pulled Tessa in, too.

I sucked in a breath. "Tessa, I didn't—"

"Don't."

Her voice was raw.

"Just tell me the truth. Right now. Did Ethan make a deal?"

The world around me tilted.

Because she knew.

Maybe she had always known.

Maybe she had been waiting for me to admit it.

My fingers trembled around the phone.

"Yes," I whispered.

Silence.

A long, heavy silence.

Then—

"I swear to God, Liv. If I lose everything because of you—"

She didn't finish.

Didn't have to.

Because I knew what she meant.

She wasn't talking about a job.

She was talking about us.

Our friendship.

Our past.

Everything we had ever been.

And the unspoken truth between us?

I had already lost her.

"You think I wanted this?" I snapped; my voice sharp.

"You think I wanted to wake up one day and find out that my life wasn't even mine anymore?"

Tessa let out a bitter laugh.

"Then why did you stay?"

I froze.

She had asked me that once before.

Back when this was still a choice.

Back when I still had an escape.

And back then?

I hadn't had an answer.

But now?

Now I did.

"Because I love him," I whispered.

Tessa scoffed.

"No, you don't."

I swallowed hard. "Tessa—"

"You don't love him, Liv."

She exhaled sharply, like this hurt her just as much as it hurt me.

"You love what he makes you feel. And that's not the same thing."

I flinched.

Because she was right.

But I wasn't ready to hear it.

I wasn't ready to accept it.

And maybe she knew that.

Because her voice softened, just a little.

"I should have fought harder for you."

My breath hitched.

"Tessa—"

"No." Her voice was thick with emotion.

"I should have never let you go. Because now? I don't even know who you are anymore."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Because suddenly, I didn't either.

I exhaled shakily.

"I don't know how to fix this."

Tessa sighed.

"Then don't."

I blinked.

"What?"

"Stop trying to fix things that are already broken, Liv."

She paused.

"Stop trying to fix him."

My chest tightened.

Because that?

That was the problem.

I didn't know how not to.

I heard Tessa inhale slowly, like she was trying to calm herself down.

Then—

"I can get you out."

My pulse skidded.

"What?"

"I have a way."

Tessa's voice was lower now.

More controlled.

"One chance, Liv. One way out. You just have to say the word."

My throat closed.

Because I had been begging for a way out.

For weeks.

For months.

For longer than I wanted to admit.

But now that it was here?

Now that she was offering me freedom?

I wasn't sure I could take it.

I glanced around.

At the city that suddenly felt so much smaller.

At the whispers, the stares, the headlines still flashing my name.

At the mess I had let happen.

And I had to decide.

Go with Tessa.

Leave Ethan behind.

Finally break free.

Or stay.

Sink deeper.

Let this destroy me completely.

I inhaled slowly.

And then—

I made my choice.

My fingers tightened around the phone.

I exhaled.

And then—

"I—"

A shadow passed behind me.

Someone moving too fast.

Too close.

I turned, my heart skidding.

But before I could react—

A hand closed over my mouth.

I fought.

I tried to scream.

But everything went black.

The last thing I heard?

Tessa's rage is real—she's willing to help Liv, but can she be trusted?

Liv finally has a way out, but is she ready to take it?

Before she can choose, she's taken—by who, and why?

Liv wakes up somewhere she doesn't recognize, and the real danger begins.