Chapter Sixteen #2
“Relax,” Miles said, nudging my arm with his elbow like we were friends. Like I could afford that luxury. “I just saved you from a hundred photos and gossip articles. You’re welcome, by the way.”
I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
And then sighed.
“Next time you grab me without asking,” I said in a low voice, “I will break your fingers. Got it?”
His grin didn’t fade.
“Sure, Vale. Sure.”
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, swallowing us in quiet and polished steel.
I stepped in first, jamming the button for our floor with a little too much force.
Miles trailed after, still grinning, wiping sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his jacket like the world was no heavier than gelato and sunshine.
I didn’t speak. My chest still felt too tight.
The elevator hummed upward. The city lights outside blurred past the glass panels.
Then I heard his phone buzz.
Miles pulled it from his back pocket, thumb swiping over the screen. His smile faltered just a little. “Renee wants me to drop by her room real quick,” he said, glancing over at me. “She says it won’t take long. Something about a call she needs me on.”
“Great.” I sighed, dragging a hand down my face. “Just what I wanted. To go to the room... alone.”
I didn’t miss the tiny crease between his brows. “You’ll be fine for five minutes, Vale,” Miles said, half-joking, trying to read me again like he always did. “No paparazzi in the hallway.”
If only that was what I was worried about.
The elevator dinged on our floor.
Miles gave a little nod toward me as he slipped out toward the opposite hall. “See you in a bit.”
I didn’t answer.
I stepped out slowly, turning toward our room. The hallway felt longer. Colder. Like walking straight into something I couldn’t name but felt in my chest.
I reached for the key card. Slid it into the lock. The green light blinked.
And when I pushed the door open—
There he was.
Victor.
Standing by the window like he owned the place. Like he owned me.
He turned slowly, his sharp little smile curling. “Julian,” he began, dangerously, like a blade being unsheathed. “We need to talk.”
My stomach turned to stone.
Of course he was here.
I froze in the doorway.
Victor’s sharp gaze swept the room, his mouth twisting into something dark. Ugly. The faint clatter of dishes—room service trays, half-empty plates, crumpled napkins—still sat on the table by the window. Evidence.
His eyes cut to me.
“I see you’ve been... indulging.” His voice was soft, poisonous. “Looks like you’ve forgotten your place, Julian.”
I gulped. My throat felt tight, dry. My heart thudded wildly against my ribs. “I didn’t—” My voice broke, weak, useless. “I didn’t eat any. I swear. It—it was Miles. He—”
“Liar.”
The word cracked like a whip in the room, the sound splitting the air before his hand followed—a blur of motion, blistering across my cheek.
My head snapped to the side, the sting burning hot and sharp.
Before I could catch my breath, Victor was in front of me, gripping my wrists in a crushing hold. His fingers dug into bone, bruising without care.
“You lying little brat.” His breath hit my face, sour and heavy with rage. “I know you ate. You think I don’t hear things? The staff talk. Everyone talks. You’ve been stuffing your face like a pig when you’re supposed to be my perfect product.”
I clenched my jaw, fighting the tremor building in my arms. My skin burned under his grip.
“I trusted you,” Victor hissed. “Do you want to lose everything I gave you? Everything I made you into? Keep slipping like this, Julian... keep gaining, keep lying... and I will make damn sure the world sees the real you.”
His fingers tightened. Pain shot up my wrists, sharp and blinding.
“A pathetic, ugly failure hiding under designer clothes and forced smiles.” His eyes flickered with something worse than anger—disgust. “You need me to keep you in line. Without me, you’d be nothing. Just another nobody begging for scraps in this business. Do you understand that?”
I bit my tongue hard enough to taste copper. My head gave the smallest, trembling nod.
“Say it,” Victor growled.
“I... I understand,” I forced out, barely breathing.
“Good boy,” he sneered, leaning closer. His voice dropped into a venomous whisper. “Keep this up, and the world will know who you really are.”
A tear slipped free. I couldn’t stop it. My hands throbbed under his grip, my cheek stung, and shame burned in every inch of me.
Just like always.
Then, as quickly as he’d grabbed me, he shoved me back. My spine hit the wall.
Victor adjusted his cuff, brushing invisible lint from his jacket like nothing happened. “Fix this mess before you’re seen, Julian. And wipe that pathetic look off your face.”
His gaze slid to the door. “We’re not done.”
The door clicked shut behind Victor—soft, like a quiet threat still hanging in the air.
But then... another sound.
Footsteps. Lighter. Slower.
Miles.
I stiffened as he stepped into the room, a shadow in the corner of my vision.
“Julian?” His voice was soft. Careful. Like he already knew something was wrong. Like Victor’s storm hadn’t gone unnoticed in the hallway.
I turned away immediately, gulping as I wiped my cheek with the back of my hand. Useless. The skin still burned, the handprint no doubt blazing red across my face. I could feel his stare settle on me, heavy, full of silent questions.
God. I should’ve known. I should’ve never—
“I knew it,” I snapped. My body shook—anger, fear, shame—coiling so tight I could barely breathe. “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you. I never should’ve eaten this junk.”
I motioned vaguely to the room service trays still sitting there like evidence.
Like guilt. Like failure. “You don’t get it,” I muttered, my voice cracking despite the wall I tried to throw back up between us.
“You never will. You can eat and smile and laugh and nothing happens. No one cares what you look like. But me?”
I forced a shaky breath. My heart hammered in my chest, my vision blurring.
“Every bite costs me something, Miles. Every fucking bite.”
I didn’t dare look at him. I couldn’t.
I felt raw, flayed open—like the armor I spent years building had cracked wide. Like he could see all the ugly, broken pieces inside.
And it was his fault.
Because for one stupid night, I forgot to be perfect. Forgot the rules Victor carved into my skin.
And now I was paying for it.
Silence stretched thick between us. I waited for him to say something—anything—but part of me didn’t want to hear it. Couldn’t stand to.
Because I’d let him in.
And this is what I got.