Chapter 16
Jason had barely reached the stairs when Bryce came rushing up to him, breathing hard.
“Stan! I just got back from that party off campus,” he panted, grabbing Jason’s shoulder. “I saw Hannah in the alley behind Riverside Coffee–some older guy was hassling her pretty bad!”
Jason froze mid–step, his mind immediately flashing to their earlier encounter. The bruise on Hannah’s cheek had barely started to form, and her father was already back for more?
His momentum faltered as his phone rang. It was his father’s assistant.
“Mr. Stan, the private jet will take at least three hours to prepare. Your father wants to know the reason for the urgent travel request.”
Jason felt caught between two urgent needs–Hannah’s apparent danger and his desperate need to reach Kelsey. His chest tightened as he made his choice, his priorities crystallizing with unexpected clarity.
“Tell my father it’s personal. Make it faster. I’ll be there soon!”
Ending the call, Jason raced toward the alley Bryce had mentioned, cutting across the frost–covered quad. The night air burned his lungs as he ran, his mind racing faster than his feet. He needed to check on Hannah, make sure she was safe, and then get to the airport. Every second counted.
He slowed as he approached the alley, hearing raised voices. Sure enough, he found Hannah with her father, but instinct made him stay hidden in the shadows. What he saw made his blood boil–Hannah’s father struck her across the face, the sound of the slap cutting through the night air like a gunshot.
Jason’s muscles tensed, ready to spring forward and intervene when the man’s words stopped him cold.
“You worthless little schemer! You said you could wrap Jason Stan around your finger and marry into his family. You promised me three hundred thousand dollars. Was that all a lie?”
Jason stood paralyzed, an icy feeling spreading through his veins. The world seemed to tilt on its axis, reality shifting beneath his feet.
Hannah touched her reddened cheek, her voice suddenly cold and calculating–nothing like the vulnerable girl from earlier. The transformation was so complete it was as though she’d removed a mask.
“How many times do I have to explain this to you? My breakup with Jason wasn’t real. It was strategic.” Her words pierced him like shards of ice, each one more painful than the last.
“I pretended to care about Juilliard, pretended to need space–it was all to make him want me more. By
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Chapter 16
making myself unattainable, I become the one he can’t stop thinking about, the one he truly desires. That’s how you secure a man like him!”
Jason felt physically ill, bile rising in his throat. The earnest conversations they’d had about her dance career, her ambitions–all fabrications designed to manipulate him. He’d thought he was the one playing a game, but he’d been a pawn in Hannah’s scheme all along.
“Don’t you understand?” she continued, sounding annoyed at having to explain something so obvious.
Meanwhile, Hannah’s father spat on the ground in disgust, his weathered face contorted with anger.
“Stop feeding me these lines! I’ve heard that Jason broke up with his girlfriend. So why hasn’t he gotten back together with you yet?”
He jabbed a finger at her chest. “Just admit it–he’s tired of you. He’s probably fallen for that Harbour girl instead!”
Hannah’s hands clenched into fists, a flicker of genuine emotion crossing her face–was it jealousy? Rage? For once, Jason saw something real behind her perfect façade.
But she quickly regained her composure, her voice dropping to an icy tone he’d never heard from her before.
“Do you want to know why Jason and Kelsey broke up? Because of me!”
Each word felt like another turn of a knife in Jason’s gut.
“At Tyler’s party, I pretended Kelsey had cut my face. Jason was so angry he told his teammates to ‘teach her a lesson.‘ They humiliated her so badly she left the country!”
The memory of that night crashed into him with renewed horror. Kelsey’s insistence that she’d done nothing wrong. His immediate disbelief. The casual cruelty with which he’d abandoned her.
“So get it through your head–Jason loves me!”
Jason’s face went completely white, blood draining away as the truth crashed down on him with suffocating weight. His knees nearly buckled under the realization.
So he had been wrong about Kelsey at the party! She hadn’t hurt Hannah at all!
He remembered Kelsey’s defiant eyes, her pale face as she insisted on her innocence. The betrayal in her expression when he’d chosen not to believe her. The absolute certainty with which he’d condemned her without a second thought.
And then he’d abandoned her to his teammates with that careless command.
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Chapter 16
The image of Kelsey pinned down by those guys when he returned–the terror and despair in her
eyes–hit him with such force that he could barely breathe. His chest constricted painfully, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.
What had he done?
The question echoed through him, hollowing him out. Every moment with Kelsey replayed in his mind–her genuine smiles, her trust, her vulnerability–all met with manipulation and betrayal. Not just by him, but by Hannah too. They had both used her, broken her, driven her away.
And for what? A lie built upon a lie.
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