I must’ve fallen into the deep sleep of complete, utter failure. I had no idea what time it was when I awoke to pounding on my door. Incoherent, unsure at first where I was, I pushed myself up to a sitting position and shoved my messy hair out of my face. In that instant, a dark, suffocating heaviness akin to grief overcame me, and then I remembered everything that had happened. I wilted against the back cushion.

“Chloe! Let me in.”

At the sound of Holden’s voice, I jolted to the edge of the couch, momentarily panicked.

I didn’t want to see him now. I didn’t want to see anyone. Maybe ever.

“I know you’re in there, Chlo. I’m not leaving, so you might as well let me in.”

I believed him, so I worked up the energy to stand, trudged to the door in the darkness, unlocked it, opened it, and made my way back to the couch without a word.

Behind me, I heard Holden come in, heard the door close, and then the kitchen light turned on and I squinted against the brightness.

“What happened?” Holden asked, taking long strides until he stood in front of me, then crouched down and put his hands on my knees. “I went to find you at the hotel and Sebastian said you no longer worked there. I looked all over for you and finally texted Presley. She said she saw your car in its spot when she was leaving and figured we were in the city for a specific reason.”

I squeezed my eyes shut because I couldn’t handle looking at him. Couldn’t stand to let him see me.

With my chin to my chest, I eventually found the voice to say, “It’s over.”

“What’s over?”

With a scoff, I said, “Angelica fired me today.”

“What?” The outrage in his tone, obviously on my behalf, was sweet and typical. And misplaced. “Why did she fire you?”

I fought to get to a matter-of-fact place so I could explain it to him and send him on his way.

“Somehow she found out I was your investor. She put two and two together, came up with an accurate picture of our ‘little marriage deal,’ and didn’t take nicely to my ‘deception.’ Didn’t listen to my arguments about how absurd her requirements were in the first place. Told me she was having paperwork drawn up to make Gloria the president and owner of Marks International. Then she told me to pack my things and get out because her trust in me was broken.”

“Son of a bitch,” he bit out. He planted his forearms on either side of my thighs and leaned his forehead against mine. “I’m so sorry, Chloe.”

For once, his closeness wasn’t comforting. It made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.