REJECT ME NOW, I DARE YOU!

Out The Door

*RILEY HARRINGTON'S POV*

The front door shut behind me with a sound softer than it should have been.

No slammed door. No dramatic line. Just the quiet click of me walking away from three years of my life.

The night air hit cold. I hadn’t brought a coat. All I had was the small suitcase Mary shoved into my hands and the contract in my bag that felt heavier than any Rolex I’d ever bought for him.

Mary followed me to the gate, her eyes red. “Riley, sweetie, are you sure?

I shook my head. “If I stay, I’ll keep breaking. I can’t do that anymore, Mary.”

“You call me. Any time. Day or night. You hear me?”

“I hear you.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

She watched me until I flagged down a cab at the curb.

“Where to, miss?” the driver asked.

“Any 24-hour hotel. Cheap is fine.”

---

The room smelled like cheap detergent and old carpet,but the bed was clean.

I set the suitcase down and opened my bag. The Voss contract was still there.

Riley Harrington – Exclusive runway contract for Milan Fashion Week, Spring/Summer 2026.

Opening look for Voss. Non-disclosure until official announcement.

I hadn’t believed it was real until I signed it on a hospital bed with a nurse as my witness.

My phone was gone. My bank account had $43.17 left. But I had this.

I had me back.

My hands shook as I pulled up my email on the hotel tablet. There was a message from Voss:

Riley,

We’re aware of your situation. We’re prepared to offer temporary housing and a stipend until Milan. We believe in you. Don’t let him define your story.

— Marcus Voss_

I read it twice.

Someone believed in me.

For the first time in three years, I wasn’t “Wilden’s fiancée.” I was just Riley.

I typed back one line: _I accept. Thank you.

Then I turned off the tablet, lay back on the bed, and let myself breathe.

Outside, the city moved on. Inside, so did I.

---

*WILDEN DON WULFRIC'S POV*

She left.

I told myself I didn’t care. That it was easier this way. No more guilt, no more lies, no more looking at her and remembering all the promises I couldn’t keep.

But the house felt wrong without her.

I poured a drink I didn’t want.

“She’ll come back,” Briana said, appearing beside me. “They always do. When they realize they have nowhere else to go.”

I didn’t answer.

Because for the first time, I wasn’t sure she would. And the thought of that made my chest feel hollow.

---

*RILEY HARRINGTON'S POV*

Morning came fast.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Not my old phone—Voss had sent me a burner.

Meet me at 10 AM. Voss HQ. Fitting for Milan. Don’t be late.

I stared at the message for a long time.

Then I got up.

I showered in hot water and I put on the only decent dress I had left—the one I wore to surprise him.

I was done surprising him.

Now I was going to surprise the world.