Chapter 59 END THIS HERE

Chapter 59 END THIS HERE
THANE
After a second, she slowly pulled away, her hands still resting lightly against my waist. Rain swept strands of wet hair across her face as she looked up at me. “Are you alright?”
One hand lifted to brush the hair away but the rain only pushed it back again.
Talking over the storm was nearly impossible, so I grabbed her arm gently instead. “Let’s talk inside.”
I led her in and shut the door behind us. I barely let us get farther into the house before the question came out. “What are you doing here and how the hell did you even get in?” I demanded, ignoring the water dripping from my clothes onto the floor.
“You didn’t pick up your calls…”
“Yeah,” I cut in sharply. “Because you shouldn’t even be calling me in the first place, let alone showing up here without my consent. What if I came back with someone else and they saw you?”
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “I come here all the time and you’ve never had a problem with it before, Thane.” She shook her head. “I needed to talk to you. I couldn’t exactly come to the office, remember?”
Right. I’d stupidly given her my spare key back when we were still hooking up. And this place had always been our usual spot whenever things got reckless between us or maybe we couldn't use the hotel.
I scoffed under my breath, kicking off my shoes before walking farther into the room. “You’re impossible.”
Nina followed behind me before stopping in front of me again. Honestly, this was terrible timing. Seeing Nina here during one of my worst nights should’ve probably felt comforting somehow, even the best time ever, but instead, all I could think about was wanting her gone before this turned into another mess.
“Who exactly were you planning on coming home with?” she asked. “Some other girls?”
I ignored her and started undoing the buttons of my shirt before stopping halfway, “You still haven’t said why you’re here.”
That was when I noticed the thin straps of her red dress slipping slightly off her shoulders.
Why the hell would she wear something like that in this weather?
Yeah. I didn’t need telling. The dress already said enough.
“Would you at least change out of those wet clothes?” she said softly. “You know you get sick easily—”
“Stop.” I cut her off immediately. “Don’t do that, Nin.” I held her gaze for a second, then looked away. I already knew where this kind of thing usually led.
“I’m calling you a cab,” I said firmly. “Whatever you came to say can wait till tomorrow.”
I pulled out my phone, already scrolling through the screen.
“So, it’s true?”
My eyes dragged up to hers but I didn’t answer.
“The news,” she continued carefully. “It’s really true.”
“We’re not doing this tonight,” I warned.
She dropped her arms and walked closer. “Then tell me why,” she shot back. “Because this is insane. I know Thane Adams can be reckless sometimes but you’re not stupid enough to let something like this happen unless…” She stopped herself briefly before shaking her head. “Either it’s true or I wasted my whole day panicking over something I didn’t understand.”
I stayed quiet. “Do you even know your name is currently number three on trending searches?”
My throat tightened instantly. Fuck. One hand dropped to my side while the other dragged slowly down my face.
“You know what your father hates most?” Nina continued. “Public scandals. Especially ones he can’t fully control.” She folded her arms again. “And the craziest part? The whole thing disappeared less than an hour later.”
That made my jaw tighten harder. Shit he already knows.
“So naturally,” she said with a dry laugh, “I started wondering if you were alright or if Simon had already even buried you alive over this mess.”
I finally looked at her fully then. She rubbed her face quickly before exhaling. “I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I came over and you weren't here, so I remembered I still had your spare key and prayed you hadn’t changed the locks yet.” Her eyes searched mine. “So here I am.” A humorless laugh escaped her. “And somehow you’re still trying to throw me out.”
My mouth refused to move. Maybe I was completely out of words. I couldn’t tell her she was wrong because there wasn’t a single lie in what she’d said.
My body shook faintly, the cold rain still clinging to my skin doing absolutely nothing to calm the mess brewing inside me. If anything, it only made it worse. “I screwed up,” I finally yielded quietly. “This is my fault.”
Nina had always known me better than most people. Maybe that was why whatever we had stopped being just casual a long time ago. And the fact that she’d known Pops long enough to understand the kind of man he was only made this whole thing more real.
The second she noticed my expression softened, she stepped closer. I immediately took a step back before she could reach me. “But I’m not dragging you into this,” I protested firmly. “It’s my problem, not yours.”
She moved again, this time refusing to let me create distance.
“You’ve never really been able to shut me out, you know that right?” she said softly before hesitating. “And honestly? I’m already involved.”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t want that.” My voice lowered. “I’m serious, Nin. You still have your own situation with Pops and I can’t have him watching you again because of me.”
Her brows pulled together instantly. “That wasn’t your fault,” she said quickly. “And I’m choosing this too, remember? We’re friends.”
The moment she said friends, my eyes locked onto hers deeply, searching. We both knew that wasn’t entirely true. Even now, standing here, I knew there were lines between us normal friends didn’t cross.
I shook my head slowly and walked toward my wardrobe. “That’s exactly why I want you out of this.” I grabbed a clean shirt before turning back to her.
“Why?” she asked, genuine worry flashing across her face. “I already paid someone to track the account that posted the pictures. The IP address was difficult to work around but we can at least start there…”
“Thanks,” I cut in while changing into the dry shirt. “But that’s as far as your involvement goes.” My fingers worked slowly through the buttons before I finally looked back at her again.
“I’m not afraid of Simon.” She argued.
I turned away to grab my phone from the table.
But Nina didn't stop talking. “The worst he could do was kick me out of the company and that already happened, so he has nothing on me anymore.”
At that point, I stopped midway through unlocking my phone and turned back toward her. Frustration finally got the better of me.
I grabbed her shoulders firmly. “Just stop it.” My tone cut through the room sharply enough to silence her instantly. “It’s not about any of that, alright?” I held her gaze. “The old me probably would’ve pretended not to understand what this is really about, Nin, but I’m not doing that anymore.”
She blinked once but didn’t interrupt.
“We’re over,” I said more carefully this time. “And putting yourself in the middle of this won’t change my mind. That’s what I need you to understand.”
The worry on her face vanished almost immediately, replaced with anger.
“You’re unbelievable.” She scoffed, shoving my hands off her shoulders. “You seriously think I’m doing all this because I want to be your hookup again?”
She turned to walk away but I caught her arm before she could move farther. “We’re not done.”
Her furious gaze snapped back to mine.
“You wanted to talk,” I said tightly. “So let’s talk.”
“Let me go, Thane.” She twisted her arm free and this time I let her.
I exhaled harshly and stepped back. “You’re right,” I muttered bitterly. “You’re probably not So let’s just fucking end this here.”
Slam!
The crack across my face came so fast my brain took half a second to fully register it. A sharp sting spread through my skin seconds later.
When I turned to face her, she's…