“You sold me out,” I whisper brokenly.
She scoffs. “You’re overreacting. That’s not what it was.”
“Then what was it?” My voice cracks as I step closer, bile rising in my throat. “Because it sure as hell feels like you sold me out to keep your dream alive.”
“It wasyourdream,” she volleys back. “You worked for it. I just made sure you stayed on track.”
“At what cost?” The room spins around me, everything blurring. “At what cost to me?”
Her jaw tightens, but she doesn’t answer. Just looks down at the floor, the silence stretching, thick and suffocating.
“Tell me,” I demand, my voice barely above a breath. “What did it cost you to watch me burn alive while you pushed me into the flames?”
“You need to stop thinking with your heart and start thinking withthis.” She taps a firm finger to her temple. “It’s the only way to survive. The sacrifices are always worth it.”
I stagger back, the weight of her indifference crushing me. “Worth it?”
“You have everything, Lexington. Fame. Fortune. The entire world is at your disposal.” Her lips press into a thin line. “Don’t act like you’re some helpless victim.”
“I was barely seventeen years old.” My stomach pitches with outrage as I stare at the woman who’s supposed to love me yet sided with a predator instead of her own son. Because I was a product—her most coveted investment.
“You were going to have those experiences anyway,” she says. “It was inevitable. Bianca was somebody I trusted—whoyoutrusted—and it made sense to let her guide you through it.”
Disgust boils in my blood, leaving me blackened and sick. “She watched me grow up,” I grit out, teeth clenched tight. “She took me to baseball games. Baked me birthday cakes. She taught me how to tie my fucking shoes.”
“You’re only proving my point. You trusted her.”
“She was a second mother to me!” I yell, pressure burning behind my eyes. “She objectified me. Poured alcohol down my throat until I was barely coherent and put her hand down my—”
“My God,” Mom mutters, rubbing her forehead with two fingers. “Yes, you were young. That doesn’t change anything. She had strong connections, opportunity at her fingertips.”
“Listen to yourself.” Emotion plugs my throat. Horror. Betrayal. Utter devastation. “Who even are you?”
“I am yourmother.” She slams a flat palm to her chest. “I’m the one who gave you all this.” Both arms wave around the condominium like she’s presenting a kingdom built with her bare hands. “And I am sick and tired of you shitting on your good fortune while anyone else with a semblance of self-respect wouldkillto have the gifts you’ve been given.”
My eyes flare with rocket fire. “Gifts,” I echo, swallowing hard. I think about Stevie, about the only true gift that has ever come from the destruction my mother handed me on a silver platter and told me to eat up. “You tore apartthe only gift I had. Made her believe she was worthless, nothing but shit on the bottom of your shoe. And I did nothing to stop it.”
“Your little girlfriend has nothing to do with this.”
“She has everything to do with this,” I counter, breathing hellfire. “When you allowed a monster who called himself my father to beat us black and blue because he was rich and powerful and important, that girl put her entire future on the line to try and protect me from both of you.” I spew the words through my teeth like glass shards, my chest heaving. “When my mother was doing everything she could to toss me back into the pits of depravity, that girl was there, holding my hand, telling me I was a star—and not because I was on TV, not because I came from privilege and wealth, but because I was me.” My voice shakes, my wounds raw and exposed. “She sawme. The person behind all the things you paraded around like a trophy.”
Jesus Christ.
It all makes sense.
My mind clears, the pieces falling into place.
I had my true gift. My peace. My happy ending.
And I sent her away.
For this.
My mother’s arms drop at her sides. “That girl has never been any good for you. She was only dragging you down,” she throws back, her cheeks reddening. “I gave you the world.Me. You just can’t see it.”
“You took my world. Flipped it upside down and nearly sent me to an early grave.”
Mom’s eyes round. She stares at me, choking on my truth. “Don’t you dare say that.”
