“I’m so sorry, O,” Sienna said, stroking my hair. She sat on the floor next to me, trying her best to console me. “Honestly, I always thought, because you were a billionaire and all, that your life must be so easy. Butfuckall that,” she said, angrily shaking her head. “Your situation makes mesomad, girl.”
“Thank you so much for listening and letting me stay here,” I said.
“Absolutely. You can stay here for as long as you need, okay?”
“Thank you …” I murmured. “I won’t stay long … just tonight.”
“Really, are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m heading back to Stanford tomorrow.” I sat up, my butt on the floor, and hugged my knees. “At least I’ve still got school and acting to take my mind off things …”
Sienna hesitated, her lips pursed. “You’re not going to see or talk to Dakota at all before you leave?”
I shook my head, my frown deepening. “Nope.” The thought that I wouldn’t see or talk to him again settled heavily in my heart, and made me want to cry—but what else could I do? The painful reality was, my dad had won. But he’d only won because Dakota wasn’t truthful with me in the first place. His dishonesty was the opening Dad needed to destroy us.
“But don’t you still have a bunch of stuff at Dakota’s place?” she asked.
I thought it over. “Yeah, but nothing that can’t be easily replaced.”
“I see.”
I happened to glance out the living room window. A flash of silver caught my eye; it was Dakota’s Mercedes, which I’d parked in Sienna’s driveway. Panic surged through me.
“Crap. I’ve still got his car.” Gritting my teeth, I turned to her. “Can I ask a favor?”
She nodded with understanding. “On it. I’ll get it back to him tomorrow, after you leave.”
With a breath of relief, I hugged her. “Thank you so much, Sienna. You’re amazing.”
“Hey, I’m just happy to help,” she said, hugging me back. “We’re all gonna miss you so much at BarDown, O.”
“Aw, thanks. I’m gonna miss you guys, too.”
“So tomorrow, huh …” Sienna trailed off, leaving something unsaid.
“What is it?” I asked.
She hesitated. “Well—before you leave—shouldn’t you like, talk to Dakota? Just to hear his side of the story? Because your dad doesn’t sound like the most honest person in the world.”
“Maybe I should,” I said, “but if my dad finds out, he’ll make sure I don’t get my trust fund.”
“But that is so insane! Who would do that to their own daughter?!”
“My dad, that’s who. And I believe he means it, because he has eyes and ears everywhere, apparently. So yeah, fuck that. I’m not even going to risk it.” I shook my head. “Besides, Isawwhat I saw, Sienna. Those videos don’t lie.”
First, Dad showed me the video of the girl from the bull video. I wasn’t sure if I believed her or not until she shared her videos and pictures. Even though private parts were blurred, they were still X-rated—and seeing Dakota be intimate with another woman was like a knife in my heart.
That video proved he’d lied to me about not sleeping with her.
The videos Dad showed me after were the icing on the cake, though. He’d had Dakota tailed all summer long. As a result, he had endless footage of the athlete talking and flirting withnumerousgirls. Of course, those girls were all ridiculously hot and beautiful. They couldn’t keep their hands to themselves, and Dakota clearly loved the attention.
If that’s how the athlete acted when I wasn’t around? I could only imagine what he’d get up to when he was on the road. How could Ievertrust him again after seeing all that?
“But what if the videosdolie, O?” Sienna asked, her features pinching with doubt. “Because you know your dad has no problem manipulating you to get his way. Who says he didn’t fake those videos, too? Or maybe they weren’t fake, but what if they were from before you and Dakota even met?”
I tutted. “They’re definitely from this summer. The videos were timestamped.”
“Timestamps can be faked,” she said.
