The elevator doors slid shut behind us, and the silence was deafening.
I stood beside him, my arms crossed tightly over my chest, trying to hold Complicated (Ava) together—but I couldn’t. My whole body felt like it was shaking. Shame, guilt, anger… all of it boiling just beneath my skin.
God, I was so angry.
At myself.
At Xavier.
At Diego, too—for walking in like that, for seeing me in that moment—vulnerable, exposed, cornered between two men I couldn’t seem to stop wanting.
The elevator was still moving when I finally broke.
A sob cracked through my throat like it had been caged too long. I turned away from him, pressing the back of my hand to my mouth as the tears came fast and hot.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
“Hey—” Diego’s voice cut through the tension, soft now. No
