Page 68 of The Love Rematch
He would put down the phone.
He would walk away.
Because they were the truth. He knew it in his soul. She was better off without him. He destroyed the people he loved. He didn’t save them. His mother’s life ended the day she found out she was pregnant with him. Her love for him kept her trapped in an abusive marriage until the day his father died. Every punch, every kick, every bruise, all because of him. Being a good son had made it worse. Fighting back only made his father hit harder. Even when he tried to fix things, he broke them. It was what he did—what he’d do—if Emily came back into his life.
Just walk away, Jake thinks now as the elevator doors open to the fifth floor.Let her go. Be a stranger. It’s what she asked for. It’s what she wants. Just walk the fuck away.
He steps off the elevator with renewed focus.
For the next three days in London, he concentrates on the job. Emily goes on her solo dates. He hangs back with the men. He watches the footage of her kissing other guys and is absolutely stone faced, pushing his every emotion down so deep it would take an excavator to retrieve them. He keeps his eyes to himself during the puzzle ceremony. Emily doesn’t look at him, and he doesn’t look at her. He’s not her handler. She’s not his job.
On the train to Paris, he requests to sit back with the men. During the group date at Giverny, he distracts himself by orchestrating an all-out paint war that probably has Monet rolling over in his grave. Two more solo dates pass while he spends his time ensuring the viewers will understand the true depths of Ethan’s assholery. And then it’s the next puzzle ceremony, where eight guys will get cut down to six, leaving him that much closer to the end of this fucking nightmare of a season.
A few more hours, and we’ll be on our way to Italy.
Just a few more hours.
Jake stands straighter, laser focused on Ethan as the man leans in and whispers something to Frank. Jake lifts his comm to his lips.
“Rajit?” he murmurs, seeing the tall, skinny PA next to Fred by the cameras. “Did the mic pick that up? What did Ethan say?”
“We got it,” Rajit says back. “He said,Nervous, Fish Boy?”
The two of them had been going at it since Frank got the first one-on-one date back in London. But tonight, it’s Ethan, Cooper, and Pierre sitting pretty with the puzzle pieces, while Frank is waiting for the ceremony with the rest. The last thing a smug asshole like Ethan needs is more power going to his head. Kevin is the obvious cut tonight, but another guy will be going home, and in Frank’s mind, he’s on the chopping block. He’s not, of course. If it all goes to plan, Emily is going to send David, the personal trainer from Arizona, packing. But Frank doesn’t know that, and neither does Ethan.
“Keep an eye on them,” Jake tells Rajit and Fred. “I want a camera crew on the two of them at all times. Something’s brewing there. Trish will murder me if we don’t get it on film.”
“You’re right,” she interjects. “I will.”
Emily walks into the room, her effect immediate. The men fall silent. They sit up straighter. Heads turn. Throats are cleared. Every eye is on her, cast and crew included, as she elegantly crosses the room and asks Ethan for a chat.
Jake doesn’t look directly at her.
He can’t.
It would be like staring into the sun, painful and blinding with its glory.
So he keeps his focus on Ethan, catching the sly wink he throws in Frank’s direction as he escorts Emily from the room. The marine biologist scowls and grabs a drink from the tray.
Bad move, Jake thinks to himself. Alcohol never solves anything. But the producer in him remains silent, aware of the brewing tension in the air. He keeps his professional hat on. He analyzes everything with the detached, clinical gaze of a physician. It’s bold of Emily to pull Ethan for the first chat when he already has a puzzle piece. Nina must have suggested it. A producer playing chess while everyone else plays checkers.
The animosity keeps building from there.
When Ethan returns, a smug grin fills his face. He tosses a few more taunts Frank’s way, makes fish lips when Emily isn’t looking. He thinks he’s subtle enough the cameras won’t catch it—or he thinks they won’t use the footage. Jake told him back in London, right after visiting Cooper’s room, that he was on track to become the next male lead. A lie, of course. But ever since, he’s been less careful about keeping his true nature off screen, which is, of course, exactly what Jake had been hoping.
Now, Ethan’s pushing.
The cameras are rolling.
And his villain edit is falling precisely into place—until the moment Frank snaps.
It happens in a blink.
Jake doesn’t even know what finally sets him off, but one minute Ethan is leaning in with a snide comment, and the next Frank’s fist is connecting with his face. The pretty boy goes down hard. Emily screams. Cooper jumps in to hold Frank back while Emily falls to her knees at Ethan’s side. He’s bleeding from the nose, which may be broken. It’s the perfect victim scenario. No one will care that Ethan was goading Frank all night. The one who gets violent is the one who goes down. Security is already sneaking in from the side to retrieve Frank from Cooper’s hold.
All Jake can think is,Fuck.
All his planning, all his narrative building, wasted.
