Max POV:
I shouldn't have thought it. I shouldn't have let that suspicion creep into my mind, shouldn't have voiced it to Jason and Dylan, and definitely shouldn't have laughed about it like it was some far-fetched joke. Because now, right in front of me, it feels like that crazy thought is slapping me in the face.
Ella—the girl who'd practically built a reputation on being tough and self-sufficient—was sitting with some older guy in a suit that probably cost more than my car, looking all… close with him. Like, sweet. Her eyes were bright, like she was talking to someone she trusted, someone she knew well. And I just… I couldn't believe it.
This was Ella. She wasn't the kind of person to sugar-coat things, to let someone else make her way for her. Right? But now, that small voice in my head—the one I wish I could ignore—was whispering, What if you were right all along? What if she's got someone rich behind her? And it was impossible to shut that voice up.
