Page 45 of Ruin Me

Even if I weren’t in love with the man, I wouldn’t abandon a client in need. Not to mention D.C. felt less and less like home the longer I stayed in Douglas. I was falling in love with my hometown again, and would have serious qualms about leaving when I settled everything.

I think Kent has strong opinions on where you lay your head after everything is said and done.

I shook my head, not needing Kent and his intentions to confuse me while I had Ife on the phone scrutinizing everything about me.

“I thought you knew me better. Even if he weren’t related to you, I wouldn’t leave your dad in the lurch. I believe in him and if I can make those asshole detectives eat shit, I’m going to.” I grinned until the frown lines cleared from Ife’s face.

“You’re right. And I can’t thank you enough for being in my dad’s corner. He’s got a lot of business acquaintances, but I never trust if they’re there for him out of a genuine sense of loyalty or they’re looking to use him to enrich themselves.”

“I get that. His circle is no more or less superficial than the ones in D.C.”

“Which is why you don’t see me rubbing shoulders with this heauxs.”

“Ife, stop lying. All Ekele does is court that circle, and I’ve seen you by his side for many of those hoity-toity events.”

“That’s different, and how did we get off the subject of you again?”

“You have main character syndrome and can’t help yourself?” I smirked into the phone.

Ife rolled her eyes, and the second of darkness I thought I saw overcome her features as she spoke about D.C. disappeared. “If you don’t want me to visit, the least I can do is send you a care package. What do you want?”

I sighed. “Have I told you, you are the bestest friend in the world?”

“I mean, there’s no maximum of times you can tell me.”

“Of course there isn’t.” I snapped my fingers. “How about I send you all the Douglas stuff we used to binge during our sleepovers? I’ll even add a few adult goodies to the box.”

“You are speaking my language.”

“Does this mean you believe I’m who I say I am and not an AI version of me?”

Ife closed in on the screen, in and out a few times with her eyebrow raised as if attempting to analyze every pixel on her phone. She eventually settled with the phone at a regular distance from her face. “Honestly, as long as I get my care package, I’d accept Mads.AI as my next best friend.”

“That’s cold.”

“You know I’m spoiled. If I’m not going to get it from you, I’ll?—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Her airy energy shifted. “But seriously, Mads, you know I’ll be there for you in an instant if you need me.”

“Same here bestie.”

We hung up, and my shoulders slumped. Keeping up the lighthearted act was more taxing than I expected because it was Ife on the other end of my conversation.

I strolled into the study to find Kent waiting on me. “You heard?”

“Not everything, but I can guess you didn’t tell her about us.”

I shook my head.

“We have to tell her, eventually.” Kent pulled me into his arms.

As his heat permeated through me, I realized I’d been shivering from being outside.

“I know.” I pulled my head back to stare into his concerned face. “But can we deal with one crisis before tackling another?”

Because no matter how many reassurances Kent gave, I didn’t want to lose Ife. She was more than my best friend. She was there to help me pick up the pieces of my life even when she didn’t know her father had broken me. She was my hand when mine were tied, my voice when I couldn’t speak, and my favorite sweater when nothing but harsh wind cut through me.

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