Chapter 3

The heavy smell of cologne hit me the second I stepped into the hallway.

At my door, Zane stood like he owned the place and looked at me with open disdain.

"What are you doing here?" I coldly asked.

"Just checking in on you to see how miserable you are after Maeve dumped you."

He looked me up and down, taking in my soaked, disheveled state, and laughed. "You look rough. You lost your job too, didn't you? Maeve said she's going to make sure you can't survive in Marinia until you crawl back and beg her."

"Tell her to keep waiting."

I decided I was done with him and unlocked my door to step inside.

"Still acting tough, huh?"

He followed me in, walked straight to Dad's portrait, and picked it up. "If your old man knew how ungrateful you are right now, would he roll over in his grave?"

"Put that down," I demanded, my voice shaking.

"Oh? Did I hit a nerve?" He tossed the frame lightly in his hand. "What if I accidentally drop it…"

"I said put it down."

Zane let out a mock gasp and intentionally let go.

The frame hit the door before the glass shattered into jagged pieces. Dad's smiling face was instantly webbed with cracks.

Blood rushed to my head.

I didn't know where the strength came from, but I grabbed Zane by the hair and slammed him into the floor with everything I had.

He shrieked, thrashed, and clawed at my arms, leaving bloody gashes with his nails, but I felt nothing. All I knew was that he'd crossed the line and insulted my dead father.

Like a madman, I tore at his hair and slapped his face.

"I told you not to touch him! I told you!"

Zane was so stunned that all he could do was cry and scream. "You're crazy! You're a lunatic! Maeve, help me!"

The door burst open before Maeve charged in. She took one look at the scene, and her face went pale.

"Nolan! Stop!"

She ran over and shoved me with such force that I staggered back and slammed into the wall. Pain shot up my spine from the impact.

Maeve helped the sobbing, hyperventilating Zane to his feet. When she noticed his swollen face and disheveled hair, her expression turned vicious.

"Nolan! You've lost your mind!"

She stalked toward me, her face filled with a malice I had never seen before.

"How dare you touch him!"

Watching her protect him, I let out a jagged laugh. "Maeve, he smashed my dad's portrait."

She paused before looking down at the shattered frame on the floor, then back at the sniveling Zane. He immediately started whining, "I didn't mean to! He charged at me, and I lost my grip!"

Maeve frowned. Instead of questioning it further, she looked at me and coldly said, "Even so, you shouldn't have attacked him. Apologize now."

Was she actually demanding that I apologize to the man who mocked my dead father?

"I'll say it one more time—apologize." Her tone left no room for argument.

"What if I don't?" I met her gaze.

"Then I'll make you."

She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.

"Hello, Mr. Cruz? Something's come up.

"Yes. I've found some… questionable items… at a friend's apartment."

She was planting evidence to set me up.

"You're disgusting, Maeve," I spat.

"You forced my hand," she replied and hung up before glaring at me.

"The police will be here soon, Nolan. Imagine what happens next when they find the goods."

Zane stopped crying and shot me a triumphant look. "You can't win against her, Nolan. Just get on your knees, bow your head, and beg. Maybe she'll soften up and go easy on you."

I was shaking from head to toe.

I looked at Maeve's familiar face, the woman I'd loved for three years, and she felt like a complete stranger. She was willing to send me to prison for the sake of another man and a ridiculous game.

Outside, the faint wail of a siren grew louder.

The corners of Maeve's lips curled into a victorious smirk. "You're running out of time to make a choice, Nolan."