Mag-log inTHALIAI slowed when I noticed him, wondering whether I should leave him alone after everything that had happened earlier, but there was something about the way he sat there by himself that made it difficult for me to simply walk past him.I took a few steps closer.“Hey there.”Leo looked up, and the moment his eyes landed on me, he seemed to recognize me. He started to turn away, almost as though he had suddenly remembered somewhere else he needed to be, but then he hesitated and looked back.“Hi.”His voice was quiet, but there was no fear in it.I smiled at him.“You’re Leo, right?”He nodded shyly.“Yeah.”“I’m Thalia.”He studied me for another second before giving me a small smile.“Hello, Thalia.”Something about hearing him say my name made me smile wider.“Hello, Leo. How are you doing?”“I’m fine.”He answered so quickly and confidently that I almost laughed.“You are?”He nodded, sitting a little straighter.“Yeah. I’m a big boy now.”“A big boy?”He nodded proudly.“I’m
THALIAI couldn’t believe Olivia had managed to turn a simple coffee outing into an event that apparently required preparation.“It’s coffee, Liv,” I reminded her as she stood behind me with a straightener in one hand, running the other through my hair as though she were preparing me for a red carpet. “Not a wedding.”“It’s a date.”“It’s not a date.”Olivia made an exaggerated sound of disapproval and reached for another section of my hair.“It’s a date, and you’re going to look like you’re going on one.”I rolled my eyes at her through the mirror. I wasn’t exactly dressed up, at least not by Olivia’s standards. I’d put on a pair of shorts, a sleeveless white cropped top and my Adidas, with just enough makeup to make me look less tired than I actually felt. It was comfortable, casual and, in my opinion, perfectly reasonable for coffee.Olivia, apparently, disagreed.“I’m not underdressed,” I said.“I never said you were.”“You’ve been fixing my hair for twenty minutes.”“Because you
CHAPTER 139THALIAI didn’t answer him.Whatever he wanted to say, I wasn’t sure I had the patience to hear it, especially after the afternoon I’d already had. I tightened my hold on the folder and walked past him, keeping my eyes fixed ahead as though the hallway suddenly required all of my attention.“Thalia, please.”I slowed but didn’t stop.“Just let me explain.”I finally turned around, the frustration I’d been carrying all day rising again.“What do you want to explain now?”Brandon took a few steps toward me, his expression unusually serious.“I didn’t call her here. I promise.”I stared at him for a moment before giving a small nod.“Okay.”I turned to leave but he reached out and gently caught my arm, stopping me without pulling me back.“It’s not that simple.”I looked down at his hand before meeting his eyes.“Then what is it?”His expression shifted, and when he spoke again, the frustration in his voice had disappeared.“Her son is sick, Thalia. Physically and mentally.”
CHAPTER 138THALIAThe sound of the slap seemed to linger in the room even after my hand had fallen back to my side. Clara stood frozen for a moment, one hand pressed against her cheek, staring at me with such disbelief that I almost wondered if she had genuinely expected me to stand there and take every word she threw at me without reacting.Then a familiar voice came from behind us.“What happened?”My stomach tightened before I even turned around.Brandon stood near the entrance, his gaze moving across the room, taking in the players, the abandoned cups and boxes of cookies scattered across the table, and finally Clara, who was still holding her cheek. The moment she saw him, something in her expression changed. The anger that had been burning in her eyes disappeared almost instantly, replaced by a wounded look that I knew better than to trust.“Brandon.”She hurried toward him before I could even process what she was doing and threw her arms around him, burying her face against
THALIACaleb was walking me back toward my cabin when I remembered the documents I had left in my office at the training center, and since he mentioned that he needed to pass some information to a few of his teammates, we decided to stop there before heading back.“I’ll be quick,” I told him as we entered the building.“Take your time. I’ll be downstairs.”I nodded and headed upstairs, relieved that I had finally found a reason to get my mind off everything that had happened earlier. I picked up the documents from my office, checked the few messages waiting on my phone, and started downstairs with the folder tucked against my chest.I heard laughter before I reached the bottom, along with the unmistakable sound of several people talking over one another, and I smiled because I assumed the players had started another one of their ridiculous conversations.Then I stepped into the lounge and saw who was standing among them.Clara.She was holding a cup of coffee in one hand while a few s
THALIA“From now onwards, I’ve decided to distance myself from Brandon Langford.”Olivia looked up from her phone, the expression on her face telling me she had been expecting me to say something completely different.“I don’t think I can be friends with someone who has no problem being friends with, or whatever it is he’s doing with, the woman I think might have killed me.”I sat back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling as the words settled between us. Olivia was quiet for a moment, studying me with the kind of expression that told me she was already preparing to give me a long lecture about Brandon.I knew that look all too well.Before she could say anything, I quickly added, “By the way, has Knox gotten back to you?”Olivia stared at me for a second before slowly raising an eyebrow.“Really?”I tried to look innocent.She shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips.“Which part do you want me to answer first?”I sighed, already knowing I wasn’t getting out of this
THALIAI stood just behind the stage entrance, my hands resting lightly against each other as I adjusted my grip, then released it again when I realized I was doing too much.“You’re good,” the event coordinator said quietly as she passed me. “It’s almost your turn.”I nodded once without respondin
THALIABrandon gave a short scoff beside me, the sound low and dry, as though my anger was something he found mildly inconvenient rather than justified, and it made my frustration spike all over again.“What exactly are you talking about?” he asked, leaning back into the leather seat as if we were
THALIAAcross the city, my new apartment still smelled faintly of fresh paint.Freedom had a strange scent.I stood in the middle of the living room, staring at the half-opened boxes scattered everywhere. The place wasn’t nearly as large as the Langford estate, but it felt lighter somehow. The sile
BRANDONThe first thing I felt was anger.It sat heavy in my chest all afternoon, refusing to fade.I stood in my office at Langford Pharmaceuticals, staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city. Traffic crawled below like ants. People moved through their ordinary lives, wh







