Page 87 of Breaking the Habit

“Fake?” Nikki gave a disbelieving laugh. “I don’t know. Photoshop is definitely a thing these days, but I don’t know why anyone would Photoshop stuff like this.”

Riley’s mouth went dry. Nikki had a point. These photos looked too real, too. And if the most common-sense explanation was Levi had cheated on her, then maybe that really was the simplest truth.

She didn’t need to invent some Photoshop workaround. Her heart had already broken. There was no salvaging it.

“Did you see them out whatever night this was?” Nikki asked.

Riley jerked her head no. “I was in the Hills that night, and I saw a super shady photographer I met recently. He took my picture. He knows I have connections with Levi. He must have been scouting him that night.”

Nikki tutted and squeezed her shoulder. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

Riley pushed the computer aside, unable to find a readily accessible reaction. She wanted to rage at the same time she wanted to cry and shout and stuff her face full of pita bread. Not only was she being cheated on—again—she’d also been dragged into the spotlight. Once was enough. Two times was grounds for something drastic. Cutting all her hair off or moving to Prague drastic.

“Are you okay?” Nikki asked, her face creased with concern. Riley nodded, pushing to standing.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go…think.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me around? I’ll go with you if you want to go to his house. Or confront him in the street. Or send a flaming pile of poop to his doorstep.”

Riley laughed on the inside but couldn’t force a reaction on her face. “I appreciate that. But I just want to go lie down and fall asleep.”

And she did. Her limbs were heavy as she plodded up the stairs, her heart still suspended between disbelief and sickening, liquidknowing.

Because she did know. She should have known. She’d told herself all along this would be the case. That Levi would end up the same, because she knew how these stories ended. She knew how men like him behaved.

She plopped onto the bed, buried her face in her pillow, and didn’t move for what felt like an hour. Thoughts hung in her mind, bulky and sluggish. She could make no headway. She could only stew in it. Feel it wash over her in terrible, gummy waves.

As careful as she’d been with Levi, she hadn’t seen getting dragged into the spotlight coming. She’d been careful to keep her distance, even while his own celebrity ballooned. Still the spotlight had come searching for her. It didn’t matter what she did. There was no winning against the attention-hungry eye of the storm.

But what had the alternative been? Strap on a chastity belt and wear a paper bag over her head in public?

At one point, she looked at her phone, wondering if she should text him.

But what would she say?

The truth was, she was also a contracted employee of his. And with his match two nights away, she had a responsibility to not fuck over his career by tearing his attention away from that. And once she brought this up, it wouldn’t just tear at his attention, it would completely slaughter it.

After the league was over, she could blow it up however she wanted. And she would. Oh, she intended to make this one explode all over him.

So that he couldn’t help but get burnt by the shards.

But for now? She needed to sleep.

So that tomorrow she could wake up and find out that this had been a horrible nightmare.

Chapter 29

The day of the fight.

Levi was spaced out from the second he woke up, which was the first bad sign.

He couldn’t get his fucking head straight, no matter how much he tried to joke around with Gage or go for brisk walks around the block. Everything was on track. He’d made weigh in the night before, he’d had the perfect big breakfast and light lunch, and now he was waiting.

It had to be nerves. This was the final, and he was about to be crowned king. Of course his stomach would feel like a steel nut.

Of course he’d have sweaty palms while he wished Gage a good trip with the girls to the arena and drove to Holt.

Of course his legs would feel like they’d give out at any second when he got to the dressing room and minutes turned into a half hour and Riley still wasn’t there.

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