Page 67 of The Forever Game

I slap my hands on his chest, pushing back… and all I can see is the empty space on my finger where my rings should be.

With a growl, I give him a hard shove, and my unexpected strength takes him off guard. He stutters back, only just catching his balance.

His face morphs into an angry scowl. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“You are,” I seethe, then turn to Ryan. “And so are you!”

He bulges his eyes at me, snatching my arm and pulling me close. “What are you doing? Stop embarrassing us. You want to lose your job?”

I glare up at him, anger firing through me as I try to wrench my arm out of his grasp. He squeezes harder, and I wince at the pain.

“Let me go,” I grit out, yanking against him.

“You are not leaving here. You are going to stand with Axel and smile and play nice, because if you don’t, he’s going to be a little bitch and make my life hell.” His grip gets tighter with each sentence until the pain is radiating right to my bone.

I clench my jaw, using my other hand to pry his fingers off me. He finally lets go, and I snatch his wrist, forcing his hand open and retrieving my rings.

My insides are trembling with a mixture of rage and fear as I fist the diamond Ethan gave me and point up at my boss. “I quit.”

“What?” He gapes at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“I…” I lick my lips and make sure my voice is ringing loud and clear. “Quit. I quit. I don’t need this bullshit. You are a terrible boss, and I deserve better than this.”

He pins me with an incredulous look, his cheeks going red before he whisper-barks, “Are you fucking out of your mind? If you walk away right now, you willneverget another job with an agency again. I’ll make sure of it. You think I don’t have sway in this city? Your name is in Axel’s contract. You better do what it says, or I am suing your ass, do you understand me?”

I shake my head, stumbling back from him. Axel tries to steady me, but I flick him off. “Fuck you.” I frown at him. “Fuck you both. I don’t need this shit.”

Spinning on my heel, I fist my rings so hard, the diamond starts cutting into my palm. Clipping out of the building, I race to my car and slam myself inside it.

Ryan runs after me, and I start the engine and punch the gas, screeching away from him before these silent sobs start jerking my stomach.

Shit. I cover my mouth with my hand, whimpering into the back of it as tears roll down my cheeks.

I hate crying.

I don’t do tears.

But it’s like a fire hydrant has just exploded inside me. I pull over on a quiet street and park beside the curb. Gripping the wheel, I let go, sobs punching out of me as I finally release all the shit that’s been festering for months.

I don’t know how long I sit here for, and I have no idea why I’m even crying by the end of it.

So much regret and pain is swirling through me, I can’t even figure out what is hurting the most.

I feel like shit. I just want to go home.

I want Ethan.

Glancing into the passenger seat, I stare down at the rings he gave me. I pick them up and try to slide them back on, but my fingers are shaking too badly. Dropping them, I rest my head back against the seat and close my eyes.

I should call him, tell him what happened.

But I don’t even have the energy to reach for my phone.

I ignored him before. Ignored his text because I couldn’t talk about what he’d said… or the fact that I’d just walked away after he said it.

Is it more than just my job that’s killing us?

Are we heading for the end no matter what?

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