“I didn’t…” she shook her head, tears falling faster. “I really don’t understand why you’re saying all this…”
“I see through you,” I said quietly. “I just didn’t bother saying it before. But that doesn’t mean you get to keep stepping on me like this.”
Her expression flickered for a second, just a second.
Then—
A voice cut through the room.
Cold. Low. Dangerous.
“Mikayla… what the hell are you doing?”
My body went stiff.
I turned around.
Hudson stood at the door, his eyes dark and terrifying. But when he looked at her…
His voice changed.
“Amber,” he said, stepping forward quickly, his tone softening. “What happened? Why are you crying?”
Amber sniffed, tears falling as she spoke, her voice shaking like she was about to break. She twisted the story just enough, soft and pitiful, and I watched his face grow colder with every word.
Then he turned to me.
“It’s just a scarf,” he said, his voice flat, sharp. “Why the hell did you have to hit her over something like that?”
My chest tightened. “Just a scarf?” My voice shook before I could stop it. “Hudson! That’s the only thing my grandma left me. The only one.”
He paused.
Just for a second.
Like he didn’t expect that.
In five years… I never raised my voice at him. Not once. But now my hands were shaking, my eyes burning, and I didn't even recognize myself.
“Amber didn’t do it on purpose,” he said, his tone softening when he looked back at her. “She already paid you, didn’t she? What more do you want? If the money’s not enough, I’ll handle it.”
Handle it.
Like everything could be fixed with money.
He pulled out his checkbook, wrote something fast, then held it out to me. “Take it. That should cover it.”
I stared at the check.
My chest felt tight, like something was squeezing it slowly, making it hard to breathe.
I didn’t move.
He frowned, annoyed, then tore another check and wrote a bigger number, his jaw tightening. “Not enough? Fine. Then take this. Stop making a scene over something so small.”
One after another.
More numbers.
More money. Like he was buying silence. Buying me.
My fingers finally moved. I took the last check, my hand trembling.
“That’s enough,” I said quietly.
More than enough.
Hudson… this is enough to end everything between us.
I turned to leave.
But I barely took two steps.
“Stop.” His voice cut through me like a blade.
I froze.
“You took the money,” he said slowly, dangerously calm. “That slap isn’t settled yet. Apologize to her.”