Chapter 1

I didn't go straight home.

If I showed up this early, Mom and Dad would immediately ask why I'd left the competition so early.

And if Dad found out Asher Penrose had deliberately kept my competitor badge and state ID from me outside the theater, he would drive straight to the Penrose house and demand an explanation.

I didn't need the drama.

Besides, I had already secured a direct placement in the American National Ballet's Principal Artist Development Track. Today's competition had only ever been a formality for me.

If Asher was willing to throw away three years together just to clear the path for Mallory Keene, then at least he'd done me one favor.

He'd shown me exactly what kind of man he was.

I crossed the street and went into a coffee shop opposite the theater. I figured I'd sit there until the competition was over, then go home and pretend I'd finished normally.

About fifteen minutes before the final awards, two familiar figures came through the theater doors.

Asher and Mallory.

They were holding hands.

Both of them looked relaxed.

Reporters waiting outside immediately rushed forward with microphones.

"You two look pretty confident. Happy with how you danced today? Any companies you're hoping to sign with?"

Asher turned toward Mallory.

His eyes were so soft they practically melted.

"We both danced well. We've already talked about it. We want to sign with Metro Dance Theatre together."

Mallory blushed and nodded, leaning toward him like she belonged there.

I chewed on my straw and watched the perfect couple on the TV screen. A strange, heavy sadness crept over me.

Three years.

Asher had been my boyfriend and my dance partner for three years. We'd spent nearly every day of those years together.

Even after he started getting close to Mallory, who was technically the understudy, I kept telling myself that what Asher and I had was different.

My first year in the company, a few dancers got jealous because Asher had been assigned as my partner.

They started spreading rumors that I was obsessed with him, that I had chased him shamelessly, that I had come between him and Mallory.

When Asher heard about it, he kicked over a rehearsal table in front of the whole company.

He pointed at the girls who had started the rumors and shouted, "Elena is my girlfriend. If any of you lie about her again, you'll answer to me."

Back then, I thought that meant I mattered.

Now?

Maybe it had only been part of the image he liked to sell—loyal, protective, devoted.

The bell over the coffee shop door chimed.

I looked up.

The interview was over. Asher had walked in with Mallory, and his eyes landed directly on me.

He paused.

Then his mouth curled into a mocking smile.

"I thought you'd go home crying to your parents after missing the final.

"So this is where you're hiding? Too scared to go home and explain yourself?"

Mallory gently tugged at his sleeve.

"Asher, don't say that. Elena must already feel awful."

I looked at the two of them running their little double act and suddenly felt nauseated.

"Awful?"

I leaned back in my chair and looked Asher straight in the eye.

"Why would I feel awful over people like you?"