Page 63 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

Each word is a dagger, confirming my deepest fears. I’m not enough. I’ll never be enough.

Paxton and Ledger stare at me, frowning, but don’t deny her words, and Trevor looks torn about what he should do. Either way, no one defends me, and that’s enough for me to rush out of their room.

When I get back into mine, the tears finally fall, and they only get worse when I note the unmade bed that’s empty of Jace’s frame.

Maybe he realized I wasn’t enough, too.

My suitcase lies open on the floor, my clothes hanging out of it. I take a deep breath before shoving everything back inside. As I collect my things, I make sure not to leave anything behind.

As I close my suitcase, my phone buzzes. Brent’s name flashes on the screen, but I can’t bear to hear his voice right now. With trembling fingers, I power it off.

The silence that follows is deafening.

I survey the room one last time, my eyes landing on the rumpled sheets where Jace and I had lain just hours ago. Now, like my dreams of proving myself, the bed is cold and empty.

Jace couldn’t get out fast enough. And now, neither can I.

As I close the door behind me, the finality of the click echoes in my chest. I'm not just leaving behind a job or a room. I'm walking away from the person I thought I could be, the dreams I dared to have.

Funny how life works. I set out to prove I've changed, but here I am, the same old me, still managing to mess up everything I touch.

But as I make my way down the hall, suitcase in tow, a small spark of defiance ignites in my chest. Maybe I'm not enough for Sweet Surrender.

Maybe I'm not the perfect professional Mallory I've been trying so hard to be.

But I'm not nothing, either. I'm messy and complicated and apparently still capable of bringing chaos into my life. But I'm also resilient. I've rebuilt myself before. I can do it again.

I don't know what's waiting for me, but for the first time in a long time, I'm ready to face it as the real me – whoever that turns out to be.

22

Jace

The pounding on mydoor mirrors the frantic beating of my heart. As the hinges rattle, threatening to give way, I’m struck by a sense of impending doom. Whatever’s on the other side, I know it’s about to change everything. I hurry across the room to pull the door open.

Brent’s standing there, face red as a tomato, fists clenched at his side, jaw ticking, and his nostrils flaring. If this were a cartoon, I’m sure there would be smoke coming out of his ears and alarm bells ringing — that’s how angry he looks right now.

I don’t get the chance to open my mouth and ask him what’s wrong before he shoves me to the side. Once he’s standing in the middle of my room, he spins around and points a finger at me.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

Me?I blink at him in surprise and shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re supposed to be my friend, one of mybestfriends, and this is how you choose to honor that?” He spits the question out, then shakes his head. “I trusted you.”

What the hell is happening?

My heart is racing, fingers numbing from how hard I’m clenching them into a fist, and before I can ask Brent what I did wrong, he’s swinging a fist at me. I don’t have time to dodge it since I wasn’t expecting it in the first place, and I hate the smirk that forms when a crunch echoes through the room.

Pain explodes across my face, but it’s nothing compared to the ache in my chest. I’ve disappointed a lot of people in my life, but never like this. Never someone who matters this much.

“That’s for going behind my back,” he mutters.

The taste of copper fills my mouth, and a small amount of blood drips from my mouth onto the floor, but I don’t pay it much attention before I glare at Brent in front of me. “Is that how you treat all your friends?”

He shrugs. “Only the ones who betray me.”

“Betray you?”

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