I was halfway through zipping up my jacket when the door slammed open like a bomb went off.
“What the hell is happening?!” Zara’s voice cracked through the air, her heels clapping furiously across the floor as she stormed in. Her face was pale but wild, fire burning behind her eyes. “What did I just read in the gossip room?”
My heart was already pounding, but her words made it crash harder against my ribs. I didn’t look at her. Couldn’t.
“Lucas is accused of harassing his PT,” Riley said quietly.
I froze mid-motion. Her voice was small. Broken in a way that made my whole body tense. I looked over, and there she was—shoulders squared like always, but her hands were trembling.
Zara crossed her arms. “I read that. But… where are you going?”
Riley’s voice tightened. “To the board. He was called in last night, right after the date. He has to make an appearance. If it’s true, he could be out for the rest of the season. Maybe even kicked off the team.”
Zara’s eyes widened. “No way. Do you believe it?”
Riley hesitated, and it hurt worse than anything the tabloids had thrown at me so far. “I don’t know, Zara. I just… don’t know.”
Zara didn’t miss a beat. She grabbed her coat. “I’m coming with you.”
The boardroom was cold. Too cold. Glass walls, polished wood, everything too clean and clinical, like it was built for decisions that ended people’s careers without breaking a sweat.
I stood stiffly at the head of the table, hands balled into fists at my sides. My casted wrist throbbed beneath the sleeve, but I didn’t move. Across from me, she sat—my former PT. She looked composed, but not kind. Calm, but too calm.
When she spoke, every syllable felt like a blade.
“Lucas Rivera repeatedly made unwanted advances toward me during sessions. Comments, touches—things I asked him to stop but that continued. It made the environment hostile, and I feared for my safety.”
I couldn’t breathe.
I gritted my teeth, barely holding it in. “That’s not true,” I said through the burn in my throat. “I never meant to make her uncomfortable. I was frustrated, yes, but I never crossed a line. I respect my therapists.”
But every word she said twisted the truth. I could feel the eyes on me. The room was drowning in silence, but my blood was roaring.
And then… the door creaked open.
Javier Santos sauntered in like it was all a damn show. He sat beside Riley like he belonged there. He didn’t.
“Your little boyfriend’s in another scandal,” he whispered to her, loud enough for me to hear.
My vision tunneled. My hands clenched harder. I tried to focus on the board—on the hearing. But I saw red. Not from the case. From him.
The board called for a break. The chairperson’s voice droned, but I barely heard it.
Javier leaned in toward Riley, snake-like. “You know, Riley, I could use a physical therapist like you. Someone smart, loyal. Maybe you should think about switching teams.”
Her voice didn’t waver. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
That’s when I snapped.
I moved before I thought. Stepped between them. My body shielding her, every muscle rigid. “Stay away from her,” I said.
Javier stood too. Chest to chest. “Or what?”
I wanted to hit him. I wanted to break something. But Riley shoved us both back before I could take another breath. “Both of you, enough!”
She sounded terrified. Furious. Protective.
But Javier wasn’t backing off. His gaze locked on mine, twisted and mean. His fist clenched—hard—and he turned toward me like he was ready to swing.
And then Riley—
She stepped in front of me.
Arms wide. Voice shaking but loud. “Stop!”
I didn’t have time to react. None of us did.
Javier’s hand moved fast. I saw it coming, but not in time.
His palm cracked across Riley’s cheek with a sound that silenced the room.
She stumbled, the shock written across her face—and mine.
Everything inside me fractured.
I didn’t feel my legs move, but suddenly I was grabbing Javier by the collar, slamming him back with a force I didn’t know I still had in me. My cast hit his shoulder hard.
“You hit her?” My voice was a snarl. “You hit her?!”
He shoved me back. “She got in the way—”
I lunged again.
But this time, Riley’s voice stopped me—cracked and trembling.
“Lucas—don’t.”
I looked at her.
Her cheek was red. Eyes glassy. Her hand touched her skin, disbelief settling in.