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I stared at him blankly. “What?”
“Have you been living under a rock? You’re the talk of social media; the Silverpiece Piece. Everyone and their dog have been tweeting about you.”
Blood drained out of my face. “What?”
“You’re serious? You haven’t heard what people are saying about you?” Zander held up a finger and disappeared back behind the counter. Suddenly, I felt like everyone in the café was staring at me, and I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
“Here,” Zander said, thrusting his phone at me.
“Zander!” Drew barked. “Are you working…?”
Wow. Drew does have management skills sometimes.
Zander ignored the manager and nodded at me as I scrolled through the threads, my face flaming as I read the disgusting comments attached to the Silverpiece hashtag.
“Oh, my…” I breathed.
“Is it true? Are you like their escort now?” Zander asked, genuinely curious, as I dropped his phone with a clatter on the tile. “Oh, come on, Mylee! That’s a new phone!”
Backing out of the café, I kept my eyes on the ground, my mind whirling. They had to have known about this, all three of them. But they hadn’t breathed a word to me.
Is that why they didn’t want me to leave the house? Were they just hoping to keep it a secret until my contract was up? They didn’t want me to know that the whole world was talking about me?
And then what? I’d be thrown back into the world with a scarlet letter pinned to my chest?
It’s the twenty-first century, Mylee. No one cares about this shit anymore,I tried to tell myself, but my cheeks flamed as I rushed back toward the L, my breathing still erratic.
I hadn’t thought this through, any of it. Who had started this social media shitstorm?
Paul Kaur came to mind, his naked accusation about me being an escort from the start. But we hadn’t been discreet, and it wasn’t a lie. I couldn’t even go after anyone for slander—not that I would, anyway.
I was going to be a pariah in my own city, and the Silverpiece princes had tried to hide it from me.
I was so stupid to trust them. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with them—or this.
Miserably, I climbed aboard the train and forced myself to think about the end of the road. In less than two months, I’d be a million dollars richer, and I could leave Chicago. I could even change my name if I wanted.
But none of that took away the dull pain that lingered, as I understood that I had been betrayed by these men. They knew about this and kept it from me.
I’m halfway done,I told myself firmly, squaring my shoulders to pick myself up again.I’ll get through this the same way I’ve gotten through everything else in my life. They can’t take my pride from me. I won’t let them.
CHAPTER15
Paxton
The penthouse was pitch black when I got home, not a waft of spice in the air. It was bizarre when I was so accustomed to Mylee cooking every night.
Immediately, my heart lurched to assume the worst.
“Mylee?” I yelled, stalking across the marble floor of the foyer, flipping on every light in my pathway. “Mylee, are you here?”
There was no response, but when I entered the common area on the main floor, I looked up toward the second story and saw a light on in the far bedroom where Mylee slept.
“Mylee?”
I moved toward the spiral steps, and her voice rang out. “Please respect my personal space and don’t come up here unless you’re invited.”
Her tone was ice cold, and I froze on the second step, unsure if she was playing or not. “Is that supposed to be funny?” I asked, confused.
