All Chapters of His to Ruin: Breaking Chelsea : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

NIGHT ROUTINES~KADE~{Playlist suggestion: "Haunted" by Taylor Swift}I didn't expect to start looking forward to my late nights at Crawford Elite.But here I was, glancing at the clock again, counting down the minutes until I knew she'd arrive. Chelsea Lynch. The cleaning girl with eyes that cut straight through my bullshit.My knee still hurt from last week's mishap, but I'd followed her instructions…mostly. The swelling had gone down enough that I could walk without wincing. The tape she'd applied had stayed on for three days, exactly as long as she'd told me to leave it.The gym was empty tonight except for me. I kept my training light—just some upper body work and careful stretching. No need to risk another lecture.At precisely 11:30 PM, I heard the soft squeak of her cleaning cart in the hallway. My heart did that weird skip thing it had started doing whenever she was near. Annoying."You're still here," she said, pushing through the double doors. Not a question. An accusatio

VENOM~CHELSEA~{Playlist Suggestions: "Take Control" by Zola Jesus}The bass pounded through my bones as I navigated the crowded floor of Venom, tray balanced carefully above my head. Saturday nights were always chaos…the worst shift for tips, the best for drama. I'd traded with Zoe for this particular torture because Chase needed antibiotics that insurance wouldn't fully cover. Another sixty dollars in my pocket meant another week without panic."Three tequila sunrises, one vodka cranberry," I announced, setting the drinks down at table eight.A man in a business suit grabbed my wrist. "This isn't what I ordered."I pulled away, keeping my voice level. "You ordered a vodka cranberry.""I said vodka ‘soda’." His words slurred slightly. Already drunk, and it was only eleven."I'll fix it right away," I said, reaching for the offending drink.He snatched it out of reach. "Don't bother. But I'm not paying for your mistake."The familiar anger burned in my chest. I could argue….I knew

MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS~KADE~{Playlist Suggestions: "Talk" by Coldplay}I watched Chelsea walk away, anger radiating from her like heat. The smart move would be to let her go. Head back inside. Rejoin the team. Forget about the cleaning girl with the sharp tongue and even sharper eyes.But I'd never been good at making smart moves off the field."Lynch," I called after her. "Wait."She kept walking, shoulders stiff under her worn jacket. The parking lot lights cast long shadows across the cracked asphalt."Chelsea."That stopped her. I rarely used her first name.She turned slowly, her expression guarded. "What now?""Let me drive you home." The words came out softer than I intended."I already told you...""Your car's not starting." I nodded toward the ancient Honda she'd been heading toward. Even from here, I could see someone crouched beside it, removing the wheels."What?" She whipped around, disbelief quickly changing to despair. "No, no, no..."She broke into a run toward her ca

THE STOLEN UNIFORM~CHELSEA~{Playlist Suggestions: "Trouble" by P!nk}Monday nights were usually quiet at Crawford Elite. Easy money for simple work. But as I stood in front of my open locker, staring at the empty space where my uniform should have been, I knew tonight would be anything but easy.Gone. My navy blue polo shirt and khaki pants were gone.I checked the locker number again. 47. My locker for the past eight months. I tried the neighboring lockers, thinking maybe I'd mixed up the combination in my exhaustion. But no—locker 47 was definitely mine, and it was definitely empty except for my street clothes and an old protein bar."Looking for something?"I turned to find Maria, the day shift supervisor, watching me with barely concealed amusement."My uniform," I said. "It was here this morning."Maria shrugged. "Laundry service picked up some items today. Maybe yours got mixed in by mistake."I knew a lie when I heard one. The laundry service came on Wednesdays, not Monday

BONDING~CHELSEA POV~{playlist suggestion: Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift}The simple question opened up a wound I'd tried so hard to keep buried. In the darkness, with a door between us, it felt safer to tell the truth."Your father's company laid off three hundred people six years ago. My dad was one of them. We lost our house, had to move to the worst part of town. That's when everything fell apart.""I didn't know.""Why would you? You were probably getting fitted for designer clothes while we were shopping at thrift stores."I expected him to get defensive, maybe walk away. Instead, he was quiet for a long moment."You're right," he said finally. "I was sheltered from all of that. My father made sure I never saw the real cost of his business decisions.""Must be nice, having that kind of protection.""It wasn't protection. It was willful blindness. And it's made me complicit in things I never even knew were happening."The honesty in his voice surprised me. Most rich kids I'd met