Page 95 of Dangerous Play

“I noticed you’ve been running again. Running looks good on you.”

I cringed at his words and leaned against the wall next to the closed door. The more distance I kept, the better.

“Thanks.” I grimaced. “Is that all?”

“Do you have to be so hostile?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “This isn’t easy for me.”

I wanted to laugh in his face, but instead, I sighed. “You haven’t seen me hostile yet.”

Ander groaned and shook his head. “Listen, I wanted to apologize for how things went down between you and me last year. It wasn’t cool what I did, and I deeply regret it. You deserved so much better, and I’ve been chasing what you and I had with Daisy. But it’s just not the same... I still want you. You are still the one for me.”

My jaw hit the floor in surprise from the words leaving his mouth. Not because of the emotional impact they had on me. Not because if he’d said these words before December last year I would have gone back to him immediately. But the sheer audacity to come to my dorm and talk trash about my sister and try to get back with me was incredible.

“Wow.”

“I know this is a lot, and you might feel guilty doing this to Daisy, but trust me, she is okay with it. She understands that her and I just didn’t fit well,” Ander went on, not realizing my disgust.

“Do you hear yourself?” I asked him with a small shake of my head. “Do you register the words leaving your mouth?”

“I do.” He nodded, standing up. “I love you, babe. Why don’t you give me another chance? I know I messed up, but I can fix it, and we can go back to how things were before. Just you and me.”

“That’s never going to happen,” I told him calmly. “You didn’t just mess up; you cheated on me with my sister on our family vacation. That was a decision. You never respected me, and you always belittled and embarrassed me.”

Ander opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

“You manipulated me. You were emotionally abusive, gaslighting me whenever you were not in the mood to deal with me. You are toxic, and I never want anything to do with you.”

“I changed,” Ander said, stepping closer to me. His hand reached out to me like he wanted to touch me, but I hit it away.

“Don’t touch me!” I warned him. “I need you to leave.”

“Don’t be such a bitch, Ivy,” he groaned, his voice dropping. “You gave yourself to Aarons, and now you think you are holier than ever?”

I hit his hand away and stepped back. “Get out of my room!”

The door flew open, coming to my rescue. “Ivy?”

I hoped it was Max deciding to show up, but instead, a wide-eyed Daisy stood in the door. Her eyes were cried out and red, and she stared at her ex.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, disappointment and sadness lacing her tone.

“Ander is just leaving,” I told her, despite Ander not looking like he was about to leave. “It doesn’t matter, let’s go.” I stepped around the door and wrapped my arm around Daisy’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

After one last look at Ander, I hurried out of the room, guiding Daisy as far from him as possible. Despite my heels, I matched her long strides as we hurried toward the exit. Anywhere was better than my dorm room, stuck with Ander. The audacity of him.

“Are you okay?” I turned toward Daisy, looking at her tear-soaked face as she nodded. She looked pale and sad but didn’t seem harmed in any way.

“He broke up with me,” she sniffled, trying to blink her tears away. “I did everything he wanted... always, and he just broke up with me. He told me you were much better in everything thanme, that I was stupid, and that he wanted you. I really thought you would have gotten back together with him...”

“I would never do that,” I assured her as we paused close to the parking, and I gave her a tight hug. “You are better off without him.”

Daisy nodded. “I realize that... I didn’t like being with him. He was very moody.”

That was one way of putting it, but I didn’t want to spring everything on her at once. I wanted her to come to her own conclusions when she was ready.

“Ivy?” The voice I’d been craving to hear finally wrapped around me like a safety blanket, and I looked up to see Max leaning against his Range Rover. He was wearing his usual jeans with a button-down shirt, and he looked hot in his outfit. I’ve seen him in a suit before, but business casual was also a great look on him. “Are you okay? What happened?”

He rushed to meet us on the sidewalk, trying to make out Daisy’s crying face and assess my expression.

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