“Now, I’m falling for you,” Nas says, cutting me off. “I admit that I was an asshole before. I was using the sex scenes we’ve done as inspiration for the story, and it was wrong. The longer we stayed together, the less comfortable I became with doing it, which is why I scrapped it. I didn’t expect to fall for you, and while I know that makes me a complete asshole, it’s my truth. You changed something in me, Alina, and even if it hurts my career, I’ll never do it again. I was wrong for that, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you’re sorry? Did you apologize to Heather, too?”

Nas stiffens at the mention of her name, and for some reason it makes me hate him even more. He knows exactly what he has been doing, and just like every other asshole out there, he didn’t feel remorse until the moment he got caught. He wasn’t sorry until his truth was brought to light. While it was happening, there wasn’t an ounce of regret in his body.

“You know Heather?” he asks, his voice losing its bass.

“I don’t know her, but she approached me while we were at dinner at Longhorn a few days ago. She was the one who told me to check your computer, and she said you’d ruin her life if you knew it was her. Let me guess, you’ll sue her for breaking the NDA, while you continue to make money off her likeness and story as The Patient sells all over the world. You have to be a true piece of shit to make a woman sign an NDA, knowing full well you’re writing a story loosely based on her. Changing her name from Heather to Ava didn’t make it better, Nas, especially when Ava is her first name. Jesus fucking Christ, is every book about a different girl?”

Nas flinches at the question, and he doesn’t have to answer. His body gives it away, crumbling me even more. Juliana was right the entire time. I’ve been such an idiot.

“I was supposed to be the fifth,” I say, but the words come out murky as tears begin to shed. “You made your career off your flings with women, and made them sign NDAs so nobody would know. You had me pegged as the next victim from the moment you spotted me in the VIP section at your signing. Heather also told me she met you the same way I did, which means you’ve been using your meet-and-greets as a way to hook up with women for your books. You’re fucking despicable.”