AXEL
"You two should really be more discreet."
We jolted apart, heads whipping towards the doors.
Brandt Blondeau stood in the doorway, framed against the night.
He stared at us, expressionless. "You should switch off your phone location. If Brielle saw this, she would lose it."
The next second, I had him shoved against the wall.
Violet scrambled to her feet behind me. "Axel!"
"Stop blackmailing her," I growled.
Brandt stared at me with utter boredom. "Violence is what got you into this in the first place."
"What are you talking about?"
His expression didn't change. "The reason Brielle came here. The video of the fight."
I frowned. "What?"
Then it hit me. The party months ago, when I'd hit that guy—
My grip loosened. Brandt stepped away from me, straightening his shirt.
"Violence is out of character for you," he said. "Brielle likes to believe that when she leaves someone they spend the rest of their life pining after her." His eyes slid to Violet. "You proved her wrong."
I blinked, slowly.
That video...I swore.
All of this is my fault.
"Are you going to tell Brielle?" Violet asked.
I stiffened. If he told her—
Brandt stared at Violet for a long moment then said, "No. You two can do whatever you want." His focus returned to me. "I did, however, take a video."
My heart sunk. No, no—
"So, if you decide to convince Violet to stop adhering to my agreement with her, then Brielle will be very unhappy," he said. He paused, then, "Of course, you could try to take the phone off of me, but bear in mind all my documents upload automatically to the cloud. Next time, you two should be more careful."
His gaze flickered to the painting on the ceiling before he walked out. I couldn't move.
I felt the weight of one more noose around my neck.
Violet dragged her hands through her hair. "Oh my gosh."
I crossed the room, wrapping my arms around her. "It's okay."
It wasn't okay.
I had no idea how to fix this.
I pulled out my phone and switched off my location.
*
"This is a sh*t show," Brielle scowled.
I stared out at the parking lot, the flawlessly manicured field and the sprawling conservatory beyond. People, in spring dresses and formal wear weaved between the cars on their way to the glass building.
Anything I had to attend with Brielle was a sh*t show.
But today was special. My eyes locked on my mom in the distance, welcoming people at the conservatory entrance. She was throwing a luncheon, raising money for a charity dealing with self-harm and substance abuse. Almost the entire town was here.
She'd told me about it last week. She'd been so worried that it would upset me.
It hit me how much she cared.
"I wish we didn't have to go to this stupid thing," Brielle snapped.
I wish I didn't have to stand next to this stupid thing.
The arrival of a familiar car made me pause.
Brandt parked. My heart hesitated. Then a moment later, Violet was stepping out onto the parking lot. A gust of wind dragged its fingers through her hair.
Gosh, she's beautiful.
Her eyes met mine, and my thoughts were flooded with the feeling of her lips pressed against my own, her hair spilling over my hands—
She looked away quickly, dipping her head. Her and Brandt headed towards the conservatory.
You would think that after finally kissing her, the thought would stop filling almost every waking moment. But it hadn't. We'd met every night the past week, and yet it seemed like the more time we spent together, the worse it was.
She completely consumed my mind.
"I hate her."
I blinked, my gaze snapping to Brielle.
She was glaring in Violet's direction.
Of course you hate her, she's perfection incarnate and you're pure evil.
I bit my tongue. Me giving Violet attention was what caused this situation in the first place. Telling Brielle exactly what I thought of her comment would not be helpful.
It took me a second to notice Brielle's focus was on me now.
"I want you to humiliate her."
I blinked. "What?"
"You heard me." Her gaze fixed on nothing, calculating. "Think of something—make up something about her, or use something you already know, drop it in conversation while she's in earshot—"
"That's not happening."
Her eyes narrowed on me. "Axel."
"Not." I straightened. "Happening."
Her face reddened. "Do not make me—"
"Do not make you what? Threaten me?" I interrupted. "You know you're not going to release that video. Because once you do, we're done. You need to remember the facts Brielle—I'm here because you're blackmailing me. You lose your leverage, and you have nothing. So when I say no, I mean it."
She stared at me for a long moment, then spun on her heel and walked away.
I exhaled, pulling out my phone.
Today was going to be a long day.