LOGINShe gave him five years of her life. Her education. Her passion. Her family name. Everything she had and everything she was — laid down piece by piece at the altar of a man and his ambitions, because she loved him and she believed in them. But the moment he reached the top, he discarded her without a second glance and proposed to another woman on international live television. So Mia did the only reasonable thing a heartbroken, furious woman could do. She found a bar. She found a stranger. She found her way into a hotel room and completely out of her mind for one reckless, consequence-free night. Then he tried to pay her afterward. She paid him back. Every bill. Then she slapped him clean across the face and walked out without looking back. She thought that was the end of it. It wasn't even close. Because the stranger she spent the night with turned out to be Cole Ashford — new captain of the Chicago Vortex, the most infuriating man she had ever encountered, and the person sitting behind the interview table when she walked in the very next morning with her whole future on the line. He wants her. He said so plainly, across a professional table, without a single apology for the honesty of it. She told him exactly where he could put that. But Cole Ashford is not a man who lets go of what he wants. And somewhere between the fury and the history and the secret she has spent years running from, Mia is beginning to wonder if the universe placed him in her path for a reason. Or if she is simply foolish enough to make the same mistake twice.
View MoreTwo seconds.I gave myself exactly two seconds of pure, silent, internal collapse.Two seconds of everything instantly going white, and the only coherent thought available in my mind was: you have got to be kidding me.Two seconds before I picked up every scattered piece of my composure, arranged them back, walked to the chair across from him, and sat down.I set my bag beside my feet. Folded my hands on the table. Looked at him directly, and kept my face as neutral as possible.“Mia Caldwell,” I said. “I’m here for the lead dancer position.”“Mia. What a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”“Thank you, sir. Can we get started?”He held my gaze for one beat longer than necessary—just long enough for me to feel it—and then he opened the folder in front of him and the interview began.He was good at it.That was the irritating thing.There was nothing I could point to, no moment where professionalism slipped enough to give me something to be openly offended by.He asked about my backgr
The apartment was dark when I pushed the door open, which lasted exactly two seconds before every light snapped on and Natalie materialized from the hallway like she had been stationed there for hours.Which, knowing Nat, she probably had.“Where the hell have you been?”I opened my mouth.“No—” She held up a finger. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? I called you so many times, Mia. I was this close to calling the police.”“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I just needed to blow off some steam.”She stopped. Her eyes dropped—traveling the full length of me slowly, and back up—and her expression shifted.“Blow off some steam.” Her voice was flat. “Mia. You reek of alcohol. And you look freshly fucked.”I groaned and walked to the couch, throwing myself on it.“I’ve also got a headache that wants to split my skull in two.”Nat followed, dropping beside me. “What have you been up to? What happened tonight?”“I might have just had the most humiliating night of my life,” I said.She sat
“Another one?”I looked at the bartender and pushed my glass forward.“Please.”He didn’t ask what was wrong or try to chitchat or worse…advise me about the number of drinks I’ve had that night, and I appreciated that about him.The bar was throbbing with music that swallowed conversations, a very vibrant and energetic crowd dancing together.Everyone was just living their lives, screaming in excitement…while my own life was crashing and shattering in pieces.It was like the universe was simply moving on with zero care of the despair I was in.I’d walked in forty minutes ago, taken the first empty stool I found.I took a long pull of my drink and let that sit.Not just a waitress. I wonder how long he had looked at me that way. How long he had looked at me and seen nothing but a waitress.I wonder how long I had ceased being someone he loved…and became just a waitress.Or had he never loved me?Was I just some desperate chick who loved him so much that she was willing to give up every
༆ 𝐌𝐈𝐀༺༺༒༻༻"Mia!! Mia!! Where the fuck are you? Get your ass in here right now — it's starting, it's starting!!"I nearly broke the frame in my haste to rush to the sitting room."Jesus Christ, Nat." I steadied the glass against my chest, orange juice sloshing dangerously close to the rim. "I was gone for forty seconds. I went to the kitchen.""Forty seconds too long!" She was already patting the cushion beside her, eyes glued to the screen, practically bouncing. "Come, come, come — they're doing the introduction segment."I sat, tucked my feet under me and pretended my heart wasn't already trying to pound its way out of my chest.Nat turned to me with that grin. "Do you think he's going to call your name? Like actually say it, on camera, in front of everybody?" She pressed her hands together. "Oh God, how romantic would that be, right? After everything — imagine.""Today is not about me." I kept my eyes on the screen. "Today is Frank's day. His win, his moment. Whether he mention












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