บททั้งหมดของ Play Me Like You Mean It: บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

I scrubbed at my face, embarrassed that of all people to see me like this, it had to be Zayne. Cade’s older brother. The last person I would have chosen to see me broken.My mouth opened to apologize, but he only shook his head, lifting a finger to his lips.“Shh.” His arms folded around me. “Don’t fight it. Just let it out.”So I did. I buried my face against his chest and cried until I had no tears left, until all that remained were raw breaths that hurt on the way out.When I finally pulled back, I noticed the dark patch I’d left on his shirt.“I’m sorry.”He didn’t even look down. “Don’t be. Do you want to get out of here?”The thought of Cade walking in and finding me like this was unbearable. So I nodded.Zayne stood, and I followed him wordlessly out of the house.---The drive was quiet. Not the heavy kind, but the kind that gave me space. My forehead rested against the window as the city lights slid by in blurred streaks. I was too drained to ask where we were going.When he

Zayne’s offer lingered long after he left. Modeling.Of all things, modeling.It wasn’t something I had ever pictured for myself, not even in the most reckless daydreams. I knew I looked good; I knew my body drew glances sometimes. But turning that into a career? That belonged to another world entirely, one that had nothing to do with me. Still, curiosity itched, refusing to leave me alone.I sat on the couch and opened my phone, typing how to start a modeling career into Google. Search results stacked in neat blue lines, article after article flashing open when I tapped. Agencies. Portfolios. Casting calls. Training camps. The industry looked brutal, the kind of place where you could either rise fast or vanish without a trace.But it also looked alive. Thriving. Dazzling.The women on my screen looked untouchable, striding in gowns with price tags I couldn’t even begin to imagine. It was surreal to imagine myself among them.Me, Mira, the girl who spent years brewing coffee and wipin

After Zayne’s driver dropped me home, I did the first thing any sane person would do: I Googled the name Vittorio Mancini.What I found sent a chill through me.Article after article called him the gatekeeper of the modeling world. He decided who advanced, who stalled, and who never got another chance. Careers lived or vanished at his command. If you landed on his red list, you might as well search for another path. People feared him.I was grateful I hadn’t known his reputation before meeting him. I would’ve fallen apart under that gaze, too terrified to breathe. Zayne had introduced me like it was nothing, like passing me a glass of water, and I’d sat across from the man most models only dream of meeting. And he had approved of me.That thought alone sent a jolt of giddy electricity through me.Even Jesse noticed when he returned home from school, he gave me a double look.“If I didn’t know better,” he said, “I’d swear you just won the lottery.”I let out a small laugh, a smile tugg

“What exactly is going on here?”Zayne stepped fully into the room, his voice calm but weighted, pulling every ounce of attention toward him.Clara stiffened. I froze. Neither of us answered.Zayne’s gaze passed over us once, his face giving nothing away, before he made the decision himself. “Fine. Since no one feels like talking, today’s class is over.”His gaze flicked to Clara. “You can leave now. I’ll call you when I need you.”Clara’s lips pressed thin. She stood, but not without a final glare tossed in my direction. I made sure to return it. For just a second, I thought I saw the corner of Zayne’s mouth twitch, as if he’d caught the exchange and almost found it amusing.“Follow me, Mira,” he said.I trailed him into his study, nerves prickling under my skin with every step. He moved behind the desk and sat, then gestured for me to take the chair opposite. I stayed on my feet a moment too long before finally lowering myself onto the seat.He remained quiet, but the way he watched

Zayne noticed the way my body tensed, then followed my line of sight to Cade standing by his car. He didn’t react, not even a flicker of surprise.Instead, his lips curved faintly. “Make sure I don’t have to text you again like today.”I managed a smile. “It won’t get to that.”“Good.” His eyes shifted toward Cade. “And you, start answering my calls.” With that, he opened his car door, got in, and drove off, leaving me alone with Cade.Neither of us spoke. Cade just stared at me. For a heartbeat, I let myself look back, taking him in like a memory I’d been starving for. God, I had missed him. A part of me, the part that still loved him, ached to close the distance, to fall into his arms and pretend nothing had changed.But another part of me refused. That part remembered the wounds, and the lies.So I walked inside.He followed, shutting the door behind him.I sat on the couch. He sat beside me. The silence was unbearable until he finally broke it, shattering whatever hope I’d held on