Page 65 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

“You… love her?”

The words tumble out before I can stop them. “I’m in love with her.” It’s the first time I’ve said it aloud, and the weight of the admission nearly knocks me off my feet. Love. It’s always been a foreign concept, something I never thought I’d experience. Yet here I am, willing to risk everything for a chance at it.

“I know it’s not what you wanted, and the last thing I want to do is destroy the friendship we’ve made, but yes. I do.”

There’s a few tense moments of silence, all of which I’m certain he’s going to throw another punch to the other side of my face, but the movement never comes. Instead, his posture loosens, and he lets out a breath that I hadn’t realized he was holding. Then I’m being tugged against him for a quick hug.

“Well, that’s all you had to say,” he says, all previous anger lifted from his voice.

“You didn’t want me touching her or going near her.”

Brent shrugs. “That’s because I thought you were fooling around, not taking women seriously, and I didn’t want that for Mallory.”

Speaking of Mallory.“Oh shit, I have to go talk to her.”

I move to make my exit, but Brent darts his arm out in front of me with a shake of his head. “You don’t want to do that right now, man.”

“Why the hell not? She’s seen the article, and I need to make sure she’s okay.”

Even though it paints us in a bright light, highlighting our secret love, it doesn’t change the fact that there are some vicious fans who would love to see Mallory drown because she has what they don’t. Who knows how many people have already made horrible comments—what kind of guy would I be if I ignored them and turned a blind eye?

“She’s packing, Jace,” Brent says, his voice heavy with regret.

“Packing?” The word feels like a punch to the gut.

The realization crashes over me in trying to hold onto Mallory, I might have cost her everything she’s worked for.

He nods. “Sweet Surrender fired her.”

Everything stops. My breath gets caught in my throat, and it dawns on me even further why she hurried out of the room. Sweet Surrender wanted to meet with her, likely to talk about the article, and it ended up with her being fired.

Fuck.

This article has set off a chain reaction that's rippling through everyone's lives. Sweet Surrender's reputation could be damaged by firing its marketing manager over a personal relationship, and the dynamic within Raising Havoc could be forever altered.

And Mallory... God, Mallory. Her career, her dreams, everything she's worked so hard for – all potentially in ruins because of our relationship.

“Because of me?” I know the answer, and I still can’t help but ask.

“Yes and no,” Brent says. “They blamed you for all the mistakes she made, said that she was too distracted to do her job, and they couldn’t deal with the liability.”

“And now she’s leaving?” I shake my head and frown. “More of a reason for me to go up there, Brent.”

“Not right now. It won’t end the way you want it to. Let her get these feelings out on her own. It’s what she needs.”

“What the hell do I do?”

“Hope that your love is enough,” he whispers.

I scoff. “Maybe it would be if she knew about it.”

Brent blinks. “You didn’t tell her?”

“You’re the first one I told. It was scary, and I didn’t want to face her rejection.”

He nods, then gives me a small smile. “It might not help right now, but I’ve seen my sister around a lot of people, and you’ve brought a change out of her. A good one. She seems happier, and I just thought it was because she was dating Trevor.”

“Trevor?”

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