The door burst open with a loud thud.

"Boss—!" Cole froze the moment he stepped in, eyes widening at the wrecked room and the state Jace was in. “What the hell…?”

Jace didn’t look at him. He kept staring at the photo like it was the only thing tethering him to reality.

Cole took a cautious step forward. “Jace… what happened?”

Cole gently took the shattered picture frame from Jace’s hands.

Without hesitation, he hurled the picture against the floor, shattering what was left of the glass and sending fragments skidding across the marble.

Startled, Jace blinked, still caught between grief and rage.

Cole moved fast, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him away from the broken mess.

“Sit down,” he ordered, forcing Jace to sit on the edge of his bed. His tone was firm but not unkind, controlled, because if he let his own emotions slip, the two of them would erupt.

He stormed toward the door, flinging it open.

“Someone get first aid in here!” he barked, and a voice responded from somewhere down the hall.

He turned back to Jace.

“Seriously?” Cole said as he stepped back into the room. “When the hell are you going to stop this?”

Jace just sat there, blood drying on his knuckles, his eyes empty and distant like he didn’t hear a word being said.

“I get it, you keep blaming yourself. You think this was your fault, but what is this, huh? Is this what she’d want? For you to bleed out in your own room like some ghost of who you used to be?”

Two maids stepped in quietly. One of them knelt beside Jace, laying out gauze and antiseptic on the bed as she gently took his hand, dabbing at the blood.

The other began sweeping up the shattered glass, her eyes carefully averted from the tension hanging heavy in the room.

Cole turned away and made his way to Jace’s cabinet. He pulled the drawers open, rummaging through photo albums and keepsake boxes until he gathered every last photo of Ariel.

“Cole,” Jace rasped, finally reacting. “Don’t you dare.”

“We’re not at work, so don’t order me around.” Cole said.

He walked across the room, tossed all the photos into the wastebasket the maid was using to collect debris.

“Enough is enough, Jace.”

Then, as if nothing just happened, he pulled a leather folder from his briefcase and placed it on the side table. A clean stack of documents sat neatly inside, a gold-plated pen clipped to the front.

“Those need your signature,” he said flatly. “I’ll come for it tomorrow morning.”

And without waiting for a reply, Cole turned and left the room, the door clicking softly behind him.

The maid tending to Jace gave a final wipe over the gauze and taped the last of the dressings around his knuckles.

“All done, sir,” she whispered gently, before gathering her kit and quietly following the other maid out.

The room was quiet now.

Jace exhaled slowly, shoulders slumped forward. Then, with the weight of everything bearing down on him, he laid back on the bed and shut his eyes, his breath shallow, uneven, as if sleep might offer him some kind of peace. But he knew it wouldn’t.

°°°°°°

~NEW YORK~LIORA'S HOUSE ~

Liora sat on the edge of her bed, a towel wrapped tightly around her body, droplets of water still trailing down her arms from the shower.

Her long hair clung damply to her back as she reached for the crumpled envelope on the bedside table... the same one she found wedged under her doormat earlier.

The letter inside was a rent notice. Her due date was next week and it's either she pays or its eviction.

She stared at the paper for a long moment before tossing it aside. She opened the drawer by her bed and pulled out the spare phone she hadn’t touched in months.

It was an old, slightly cracked model, but after retrieving her SIM details from the service center earlier that day, she had it up and running again.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she scrolled through the contacts. She paused at a name "JOJO" and pressed call.

It rang twice before a familiar voice picked up, sharp and tinged with sarcasm.

“Wow. Liora Belle Hart. To what do I owe this miracle? You only call when you’re in trouble or need something. Or did you finally remember I exist?”

Liora closed her eyes for a second, feeling the sting behind her lids.

“I’m sorry.”

Jojo gave a short, breathy laugh. “Nah. Maybe you’re just too in love with Cassidy now. Ever since you two got close, you stopped talking to me. Best friends, huh?”

Liora sighed , tache she’d been pushing down for weeks now curled into a fist.

She took in a slow, audible breath.

Jojo’s voice softened immediately. “Hey… that sigh didn’t sound right. What’s going on, girl?”

Liora swallowed. “Cassidy betrayed me.”

There was silence on the other end.

“She and Troy are getting married,” Liora added with a bitter laugh. “Can you believe that? Not only did they screw me over, but now they’re walking down the aisle.”

“You serious? Cassidy and Troy?” Jojo said in schock.

“Dead serious.”

“Liora…” Jojo exhaled slowly. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“I didn’t know who else to call. I'm stranded and I just needed to talk. I feel so alone, Jojo. I feel like a fool.”

“Well, you’re not a fool. You just trusted the wrong people and trust me, Cassidy and Troy are going to get what’s coming. Karma is a big bitch.”Jojo said.

“I hope you’re right,” she whispered. “Because right now, it doesn’t feel like it.”

Jojo scoffed on the other end of the line. “Troy is a damn clown, Liora. A shallow, walking disappointment. And don’t get me started on Cassidy. You didn’t lose anything, you dodged a disaster.”

Liora ran a hand through her damp hair, a weak smile tugging at her lips.

“It just… sucks. I gave them everything. My time, my trust…”

“And they threw it in your face. That says everything about them, not you.” Jojo’s voice softened. “You’ve always had a big heart. That’s not your weakness, Liora- it’s your strength. Don’t let two backstabbers make you question that.”

Liora went quiet for a moment.

“Do you… know anywhere I can work? Anything at all? I don’t care what it is. I just really need the cash..”

“Funny you ask, because yeah, I do. I’ve got something lined up right now that pays really well. Weekly.”

Liora’s eyes widened. “How well?”

Jojo grinned on the phone, even if Liora couldn’t see it. “Let’s just say… enough to get you back on your feet and then some.”

Liora sat up straighter, a sharp breath leaving her lips. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious. I wasn’t gonna mention it yet, but I had a feeling you’d need it soon. And lucky for you…I’m actually in town.”

Liora blinked in surprise. “Wait, what? You didn’t tell me you were here!”

“I figured I’d surprise you, but now the timing’s perfect. I’ll swing by your place tomorrow, and if you’re really down, we’ll go together.”

“What kind of gig is this?”Liora asked

“Stripping.”