?Chapter 270:


    Hailee whipped around, disbelief and outrage burning in her eyes. Of all ces, Boris was having a st at the Royal Club. She had spent countless nights working herself ragged there, pouring drinks for entitled men and scraping together every dor for Boris’s endless “hospital bills.”


    At that nightclub, she’d endured every kind of humiliation. Her looks drew leering stares and unwanted hands—night after night, she dodged drunk, grabby patrons, forced to keep her guard up just to survive the shift. Through it all, she had smothered her humiliation in silence, thinking it was all for Boris’s sake. But now, the bitter truth hit her—Boris lounged there drinking and reveling.


    That club was a glittering yground for the wealthy and spoiled. She never belonged to that world—had never even wanted to. But for Boris, she’d choked down her pride and stepped straight into the lion’s den. All her sacrifices, every degrading night in that ce—had it all been for nothing but a cruel, borate joke?


    Hailee squeezed her eyes shut, grief carving deep lines into her face.


    Tears traced silent paths down her cheeks, refusing to stop.


    Elliana’s voice was soft but resolute. “Let me take you to him.”


    A bitter shake of the head was all Hailee could manage. “No. If this were nothing but a twisted game for him, then it ends now. I never want toy eyes on him again.”


    Elliana studied Hailee for a long moment, her expression unreadable. “Don’t you want to fight back? Even just a little?”


    A hollow ache flickered in Hailee’s chest as she shook her head. “What would be the point? I’m nobody. He’s untouchable—a rich man’s son with the world at his feet. I could throw myself into the fire, but I can’t risk dragging my father in with me.”


    Boris had sunk so low that he’d tricked her and schemed to take her kidney without a shred of remorse. If she ever tried to hold him ountable, there was no telling what he’d do in retaliation. She could handle whatever Boris threw at her, but she couldn’t risk putting her father in harm’s way.


    Her father had spent his whole life running Loftus’s Comfort Eats, hustling day and night just to put food on the table and send her to college. Yet, every dime she’d made after graduation had vanished into Boris’s sick, twisted scam. Not once had she set aside anything for her father—no gifts, no token of thanks. The weight of that regret gnawed at her now, sharp and inescapable.


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    “Elliana, I mean it—thank you for telling me the truth. If it weren’t for you, I might have lost more than my dignity. I’m exhausted. I just want to go home and be with my dad for a while. I’m done with all of this.” Hailee turned away, shoulders hunched in defeat, her heartbreak carved into every step as she started to leave.


    Elliana stayed back, silent but watchful, reading the storm of pain Hailee was trying to bury for her father’s sake. She knew Hailee was only holding herself together out of love for Briggs, not because she was ready to forgive or forget.


    Elliana couldn’t stand by and let Hailee swallow this kind of injustice, not when the wounds ran so deep. Without hesitation, she strode over and caught Hailee’s wrist. “Are you sure you don’t want to see the real Boris for yourself?”


    Hailee faltered mid-step, the question hanging between them. She’d spent a long time clinging to the image of Boris as gentle and selfless—a fragile man who always put her first, even as he suffered from “pain.” Up until that moment, Boris’s true self had remained hidden from her. Now, she was determined to see who he was without her presence. She needed to burn the image of that fucking scumbag into her mind, so she’d never fall for a lie like this again.


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