Page 67 of Fighting Chance

“Oh yes,” Ellington spits through gritted teeth. “She’s been saving for a year, has been planning that damn vacation and telling everyone how excited she is formonths.Meanwhile, he doesn’t lift a finger like the little manchild he is…” He takes a deep breath to calm himself before going on to explain. “She called me in tears last night and confessed that she has been begging him to confirm that he likes the hotels she picked and every time he’d tell her that they’d talk about it later. Now, six weeks before the trip, that prick drops the bomb that he suddenly can’t afford it and doesn’t think he can go.” His fists clench by his sides. “She told me she even offered to pay for his portion because she’s so excited to go but he refused.”

I frown. “Can he genuinely not afford it?”

Valenti barks out a humorless laugh. “No, he has money. He works in finance, and hesomehowcould afford a last-minute trip to Japan over Christmas and left her alone over the holidays.”

I shake my head to keep up with all this new information and the venom I can evidently hear in Valenti’s voice. “Wait, Evie was alone over Christmas break? But didn’t he?—”

“Promise not to leave her alone during the holidays like he did the year before? Yes, and he broke that promise too.”

“He’s a prick.”

“A huge prick,” Valenti growls.

I watch him carefully. Ellington is so consumed with his own anger that I don’t think he’s noticed the fact that Valenti is a little too angry for his best friend’s younger sister.

“The holidays are a big deal to Evie,” Ellington whispers, and there’s an edge to his voice, a deep sadness, that I rarely hear from him. “But recently she started refusing to come to any family dinners, even Christmas, and I thought it was because she was spending it with that twat of a boyfriend but she confessed last night that he bailed on her.”

My mind whirls, utterly consumed with questions, and by thetornado behind Valenti’s eyes, so is he. Why has Evie suddenly started refusing to spend time with her family?

What the hell happened?

Shoving my curiosity aside, I focus on the trip and ask, “What is she going to do?”

“Fuck do I know. For some reason the dick has a hold on her and she won’t leave. Every now and then she’ll get clarity and say she’s leaving him but it’s always at weird times and then she randomly says she can’t because, oh, it’s his birthday or Christmas or he’s struggling mentally. Honestly I wish I could shake her and make her see that she deserves so much more than this.”

“She will,” Valenti says, something flashing in his eyes that I can’t decipher. “One day she’ll see just how amazing she is.”

Ellington shakes his head, turning back to the boxes. “Let’s hope that day is real fucking soon.”

Chapter 13

Layla

KIERAN

what are you doing?

LAYLA

reading

KIERAN

what are you reading?

LAYLA

you really want to know?

KIERAN

of course I do

LAYLA

it’s a romance book

KIERAN