Chapter 3
Chapter Three
SUTTON
Iwake up to Declan's alarm and the realization that I barely slept.
He's already sitting on the edge of the bed, head in his hands. I know without asking that he didn't sleep either. The confrontation with his father is happening today.
"You don't have to do this," I whisper, reaching for him.
He looks back at me, and God, his eyes are so tired. "Yeah, I do."
I want to argue, to tell him to let it go—that his father's opinion doesn't matter.
We can just ignore all of this and move on.
But the words die in my throat because they'd be lies.
His father's opinion does matter—not because Declan cares what he thinks, but because of everything that comes with it. The connections. The opportunities.
"I'm coming with you," I say, starting to get up.
"No. This is between him and me."
"Are you sure?”
"I need to do this alone."
I lie back down and watch him get dressed. I skipped practice. When my alarm went off, I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed. I told a little white lie.
I couldn’t bring myself to care that much. We weren’t going to make the playoffs. It was my senior year, and while I loved hockey, I could feel myself quickly growing tired of the demands on my time.
He kisses me before he leaves—hard and desperate and too quick.
"I love you," he says against my mouth.
"I love you, too. Be careful."
The door closes behind him, and I'm alone with the weight of what I've set in motion.
I drag myself out of bed, collect clothes from my room, and head to the shower. I don’t want to be the one who tears Declan and his father apart. Rationally, I know it isn’t me. It is all his father’s.
I head to class, going through the motions and checking my phone for an update from Declan.
Nothing.
I know Declan loves me, but what if his father convinces him to break up with me? He almost convinced me to take the money and run. The guy is a good salesman.
I'm standing in line at the campus coffee shop, staring blankly at the menu board, even though I get the same thing every time, when someone grabs my arm.
"Where the hell have you been?"
I turn to find Keira, her plain brown eyes wide with concern and frustration.
"Coffee," I say lamely, gesturing at the line.
"You know what I mean. You didn't call me back last night. You missed practice this morning. Coach is pissed." She studies my face more closely. "You look like shit, by the way."
"Thanks."
"Sutton." Her voice softens. "What happened?"
The barista calls me forward, and I order my usual latte on autopilot. Keira orders, too, then pulls me to a corner table away from other students.
"Talk," she demands once we're seated.
I wrap my hands around the warm cup, needing something to hold onto. "Declan's father came to see me yesterday."
"Yuck. Why?"
"He offered me money—a hundred thousand dollars—and a job interview at Quantico to break up with Declan and move out."
Keira's mouth drops open. "He what?"
"He said I'm a distraction. That I'm ruining Declan's career. He’s convinced we're going to break up anyway when he goes pro, so I might as well take the money now and leave Declan before I can destroy his life."
"Are you kidding me?" Keira's voice rises, drawing looks from nearby tables. She lowers it to a harsh whisper. "He actually tried to bribe you? Like you're some gold digger he can just pay off?"
"Pretty much."
"That's insane! Who does that?" She shakes her head, her lip curling with disgust. "What an absolute asshole. How dare he? How dare he show up at your house and try to manipulate you like that?"
"I know."
"Please tell me you told him to go to hell."
I grimace.
Her mouth drops open. “Sutton…did you take the money?”
“No!”
“Sutton, what aren’t you telling me?”
I sigh, realizing how bad it sounds. It is bad. I’m ashamed that I even let myself consider it.
“I didn’t know what to say in the moment. I didn’t reject the offer right away. I wasn’t really going to take it. But—”
“You thought about it.”
“I did. I know I never would take it, but yeah, I thought about what that kind of money could do for me.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Okay, so you’re thinking about it?”
“No. I did. I thought about it, and I can’t sell my heart.”
“Did you tell Declan?”
"Yes. Last night."
Keira's eyes widen further. "Oh God. How did he react?"
"About how you'd expect. He's furious." I take a sip of my latte, barely tasting it. "He's talking to his father right now. Confronting him about it."
"Oh shit." Keira sits back in her chair, processing. "Oh shit, Sutton. That's…wow. That's a lot."
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?"
The question catches me off guard. Am I okay? I don't even know anymore.
"I don't know," I admit. "I’ve never been offered money to stay away from someone. It’s obviously insulting, but what if I am holding Declan back?"
"Stop." Keira reaches across the table and grabs my hand. "Don't let that manipulative asshole get in your head. That's exactly what he wants."
"But—"
"No buts. You're not holding anyone back. Declan is a grown man making his own choices. If he wanted to focus solely on hockey, he would. But he chose you. That's not your fault or your responsibility to fix."
I want to believe her. I really do.
"What if this ruins his relationship with his father?"
"Then that's on his father for being a controlling dick, not on you for existing." Keira squeezes my hand. "You can't take responsibility for other people's shitty behavior."
“Do you know what it feels like to be considered to be such a loser that someone wants to pay you to go away?”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but in our world, money is the solution. It doesn’t matter what the problem is, just throw money at it.”
“And I’m the problem.”
“In his eyes, yes. But clearly Declan doesn’t believe it, and that’s what matters.”
I wave my hand. “I don’t want to talk about me. Tell me about Crew. What’s going on there?”
She smiles. “It’s going. Slowly. Not serious. Just a lot of fun.”
“He’s a good guy. Very funny.”
“Is it weird for me to be dating one of your roommates?”
“Nope.”
“Good. We should all go out. Let’s go dancing. Not a party at the house, but us hanging out at the club. Dancing. Having fun.”
I thought about it for a second. “You know what? That sounds like a good idea. I still owe you a night out.”
“Yeah, you do.”
We finish our coffee and head to our classes. I keep checking my phone, but there’s nothing from Declan. I really, really hope I didn’t completely screw up his life.