All Chapters of Good Girl Gone Bad: Chapter 51 - Chapter 56

SAOIRSE."Hit me again, Saoirse. Hit me harder this time and pretend that I'm him."Massimo's voice cut through the dim gym like a blade, his massive frame planted in front of the padded target he held up. Sweat dripped from his brow, staining his black tank top, but his eyes locked on mine—pushing me like he always did. I clenched my fists, wrapped in fresh tape, and drove my knuckles forward. The impact jolted up my arms, solid and precise. The target buckled just a fraction under his grip."Good," he grunted, adjusting his stance. "Again. But faster. You telegraph that left hook every time."I nodded, sucking in air that burned my lungs. We'd been at it for hours—basic strikes first, targets three feet away, then takedowns on the mat. He'd pinned me earlier, his body crushing mine to show how leverage worked against size. "Use their weight against them," he'd said, rolling off with a smirk. "Knee to the groin, elbow to the throat. Be strategic, not just brute force." I'd flipp

SAOIRSE."Blood calls to blood, Saoirse. Come home."I was already mid-swing, my fists slamming into the heavy bag in the dim underground gym but those words from Massimo has been playing repeatedly in my mind, playing on and off.Sweat poured off me, stinging my eyes, but I kept going, until my punches are louder than his voice. The bag swung back hard, chains rattling loud against the concrete ceiling.This gym was my spot. No windows, just the thud of my knuckles hitting leather and my sharp breaths cutting the air.I'd been pounding away for hours, letting the rage build, sharpening myself for what was coming.My phone buzzed on the rickety bench across the room, screen lighting up with his name.Massimo.I ignored it, three punches, four, five. Each one landing with a wet smack that bounced off the walls.The bag jerked, but the buzzing wouldn't quit, drilling into my skull like a goddamn fly. I ripped off my gloves with my teeth, spat them on the floor, and snatched the phone."

SAOIRSE.“One...”“Two…”“Three.”Three seconds. Three seconds was long enough for Zeus to walk past me in the east corridor and keep walking.He did not slow down. He did not turn his head. The space between us closed and then opened again, and I stood there with my champagne flute steady in my hand, watching the back of his suit disappear into the crowd. He didn't turn back once.I have thought about this moment for days. I built versions of it in my head. The way his eyes would find mine across a room and watch the color in his face flash out.The way his jaw would go tight. The way he would know, without being told, that the woman standing in front of him wasn't a stranger.I did not build this version. The one where he doesn't stop at all.I stood in that corridor for a long time after he'd gone. Long enough that a waiter asked if I needed a fresh glass. I didn't let go of the glass I was holding because if I let go of it I was afraid of what I might do with them instead.Year