-POV Derby
The tears wouldn’t stop.
They came in quiet, relentless waves, soaking into the front of Jordan’s shirt as I clung to him in the small meeting room that suddenly felt like the only safe place left in the entire building. My shoulders shook with each silent sob, the kind that came from somewhere deeper than I had let anyone see before. I had spent so long holding everything together — the heartbreak from Rian, the careful rebuilding of my life, the constant fear of being the second choice again — that when the dam finally cracked, it didn’t just leak. It flooded.
And Jordan stayed.
He didn’t pull away. He didn’t tense up or try to fix it with words or promises. He simply tightened his arms around me, one hand cradling the back of my head while the other rubbed slow, steady ci
