53

I shouldn't have been surprised.

But I was.

"That's your boyfriend?" Erika asked. "But I thought you were single?"

"She told you that?" Daisy inquired, shaking her head. "No, honey, Kendall lied to you, then."

Dominick grabbed me by the arm, gaining my attention. "You're coming with me."

My heart was beating out of my chest.

My body was numb and so incredibly heavy.

I didn't want to get in any more trouble with production. I'd already been fined once for leaving. I didn't know what would happen a second time. But more conversation and having those words aired could be detrimental in so many ways.

I wasn't willing to take that chance.

"You know I love you more than anything," I said to my sister.

"You say that now, but does that excuse what you've done to me?" Her voice was turning sharp. "How you've treated me?"

Dominick positioned himself between Daisy and me. "We're leaving."

"If you've done nothing wrong, then why do you need your man to put out your fires?" Daisy asked. "For someone who's so innocent, you surely look guilty from where I'm standing."

"Don't respond," he whispered even though the camera and microphones the crew were holding caught every word.

"I get it; you just prefer to do your dirty work behind the scenes. That's it, isn't it, sister?" She moved to Dominick's side to get a view of me.

"We're out of here," Dominick said, his hand on my back, guiding me to the door.

A production assistant moved in front of us, stopping me from taking another step. "We need to speak to you. She can't just leave."

"I'm her lawyer, and she's getting verbally assaulted. I would like you to show me where in her contract it states that she can't leave for her own safety and comfort."

"Assaulted," Daisy gasped from behind us. "That's what you're calling my tears? I'm the one who's being assaulted here."

Dominick glared at the production assistant and said, "Move out of our way."

The assistant looked at the cameraman. "Shane is going to blow his lid over this."

"Tell Shane he can fucking call me," Dominick snapped.

My brain was spiraling.

I couldn't even begin to process what Daisy had tried to start tonight, the way she had spun things, that Dominick had flown into the ladies' room, breaking every one of his personal rules. And then there was the show, the way Shane was going to react, and the phone call I was most definitely going to get later.

"I can't believe you're going to let your boyfriend control you," Daisy said. "Our parents raised us better than that. Don't you have a voice, or did he take that away from you too?"

I went to turn around, to say something, anything that would just make her stop.

But Dominick cut me off and said, "Don't. We're leaving. Trust me, it's not worth it."

With his hand still on my back, he led me out of the restroom, the cameras following us through the VIP section and down the small staircase, all the way out to his car. The light was so blinding that I used my hand as a visor, trying to block some as it came in through the tinted glass of his window.

"Are you all right?" he asked the second we were away from them, speeding out of the parking lot, toward the road.

"I don't know."

Once he shifted, his hand went to my thigh. "I saw her the second she came in, and I warned her." He shook his head. "I fucking warned her, Kendall, and she didn't listen. I saw her go into the restroom after you, and I tried to get there as fast as I could." His fingers moved to the back of my head. "Jesus, baby, I'm so fucking sorry she did that in front of the cameras."

"Me too."

The emotion was moving into my throat, the reality of what had happened finally sinking in. I couldn't halt the tears that were falling. I couldn't make my chin stop quivering.

This hurt.

"My sister," I whispered. "My goddamn fucking sister. I don't understand why she did this."

"She's losing everything, and she's desperate to get it back."

And her attempt was going to play out on TV, and it would slap even harder when I saw it on the screen.

Before that happened, I would have to deal with the ramifications of tonight, the Celebrity Alert that was probably going to be released, either announcing my relationship or how awful I'd treated my sister.

I hated this.

And I hated that she had caused this.

He looked at me when he reached the red light. "Tell me what I can do to make you feel better."

My heart was pounding, aching. My body still trembling. "You're already doing it." I wrapped my fingers around his. "You protected me; that's all I could ever ask for."

TWENTY-EIGHT

DOMINICK

"D

rink this," I said, holding a glass of wine in front of Kendall.

She wrapped her fingers around the stem and held the drink against her chest, tucking herself in the corner of my couch, where I covered her in a blanket.

She'd been shaking the entire drive to my house, still was by the way the blanket appeared to be moving. At least the tears weren't running as fast. I hated more than anything to see them. Kendall was strong, resilient. I knew she would get through this.

But I also knew she was hurting something fierce.

Battling a sibling, someone you were supposed to be able to trust, wasn't easy.

And Daisy had taken things to the next level. That bitch would be the first person to stab Kendall in the back, and she wouldn't even feel remorseful about it.

I pulled her against me, holding her back, rubbing my palm across it. "While I was getting your wine, I called Shane."

She tilted her neck to look at me, her eyes widening from the news.

"Brett gave me his number. I wasn't going to wait for him to reach out. This shit needs to get squashed before morning."

"What did he say?"

"I realize I didn't get to the restroom immediately; therefore, I'm sure there's dialogue that I'm not in. But for the majority of the footage, I'm present, and I told him I'll file suit if they release any of those shots. I don't care if they try to blur me out or disguise my voice. I won't stand for it."