She’d won. My mother had promised to make me regret my choices, and she had. She had ruined everything in my life that meant anything to me.

It was all lies.

I grabbed my skirts and I ran. I heard Tyler calling my name, but I ignored him. I had to get out. Get away from all the people in this room who thought they knew better than me. That I was too stupid to make my own decisions. That they needed to be in control of me, watching over me, deciding how I spent my time and who with.

He caught up to me in the front hall, reaching for my wrist. “Madison, wait. I didn’t know the Huntingtons were your parents.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s okay. You can stop lying to me now. I know everything.”

“I’m telling you, it’s the truth. None of what she told you back there is real.”

“Which part? That my desperate aunt arranged all this for money? Tricking me by taking me to horrible apartments I couldn’t bear to live in so that your place would seem like paradise? Or that you were willing to put me up in your place for free so that you could get your precious promotion? Did you have a good laugh with my mother over making me clean when I had no idea what I was doing? Was pretending to want me and kissing me part of the deal, too? So you could make sure I wouldn’t move out?”

“No! I kissed you . . . because . . .” He ran his fingers through his hair, showing me his frustration. “Because I was falling in love with you. I’m in love with you. And I shouldn’t have kissed you, because you had a boyfriend that you’ve been with for eight years. The first time the two of you had just broken up and I was such a hypocrite to make a move, especially after I instituted that stupid rule that we couldn’t be together.”

My breaking heart wanted to mend, to rejoice that he loved me, that he had been trying to be a gentleman and not make a move on someone he thought was vulnerable. Problem was, I didn’t believe him. I was so truly sick of being lied to and manipulated and, seriously, Tyler would choose this very moment to confess his undying love? “Did my dad put you up to that part? The rule? Because that sounds like him.”

“How could you think me capable of any of this?”

Now it was Oksana’s words that filled my head. That Tyler was ruthless and ambitious. That he wasn’t the good guy or the hero of my story. That I knew if this was Brad who’d been caught in the lie, he’d be doing the same exact things Tyler was trying to do right now. Distract me with protests of love. Claim he hadn’t known what was happening. Deny everything he’d done.

“Look.” Now he sounded desperate. “I told you about my promotion. From the beginning. We celebrated it. Why would I do that if I’d gotten it in exchange for hurting you? If I were trying to trick you, I wouldn’t have said a word about it.”

How did he expect me to believe that? How was I supposed to see him as anything but another lackey willing to do anything my parents wanted in order to achieve his goals? “Or you did that to throw me off the scent. How did you never tell me where you worked?”

“It wasn’t intentional! Sometimes those things don’t come up. Like you never once said who your parents were. You never said their names.”

Was that true? I couldn’t remember. “You know my last name!”

“You aren’t the only family named Huntington!” His voice softened. “I didn’t make the connection. You’re just Madison to me. My Madison.”

Again I felt my weak heart waver as my breath caught, but I wasn’t going to be taken in. Not again.

As if he sensed my resolve slipping, he said, “I should have told you that I loved you when I first realized it.”

Was this part of the plan? Where he’d only meant to lie to me about living in his apartment but, whoops, accidentally fell for me? Which, again, would be to his benefit?

I could only imagine how much bigger and better his career would be if he were with me. Because that’s how things worked in my family. If Violet ever did tell my parents about her personal trainer, Tyler might just end up the new Weston Wilshire CEO.

Or he would if I were by his side. Coughlin came to the front, carrying my coat. Tyler reached out, as if he wanted to help me, but I backed up. I didn’t want him to touch me.

I didn’t want him near me.

“I don’t believe you,” I told him. “But if you do care about me at all, don’t follow me or try to contact me.”

My lungs started to constrict as I put on my coat and stepped outside. Hot, unshed tears blinded my vision but somehow I found Julio and asked him to drive me to Shay’s apartment, giving him the address. I rolled up the dividing window between the driver’s seat and the back. I needed the privacy.

When we pulled away from the house it was then that I finally allowed the sobs to break free and shake my entire frame. I cried so hard I worried I might vomit.

My mother had ruined everything. Tainted every memory I had of the things I’d accomplished.

And all my memories of Tyler.

The car dealership? That was where our friendship had started. Had my mother forced him to go with me?

I ran through all my interactions with Tyler in my mind, wondering what I’d missed. The signs that he was my parents’ employee this entire time. Were they all laughing at me? At how easily they’d continued to manipulate and control my life without me even knowing it?

Julio got me to Shay’s and I somehow managed to climb the four flights of stairs to her apartment. I knocked on her door, hoping she was still up. I was about to call her when the door opened and she took in my mascara-stained appearance.

“What happened?”

She led me over to the couch and had me sit down. I started crying all over again and it took a while before I could stop and actually speak. I told her everything that had gone on that night, ending with Tyler’s betrayal. She stayed uncharacteristically silent as she listened, periodically handing me tissues so that I could dab at my eyes and blow my nose.

“I’m going to quit the academy,” I announced, unnecessarily dramatic.

“Why would you quit? You just signed a two-year contract.”

“Because now that I know my parents are responsible for getting me my job, how can I stay there? They ruined it. I didn’t earn it on my own.”

Shay shook her head. “I recommended you, too. Maybe it was a combination of both things, or neither one. It doesn’t really matter. You’re the one who interviewed. You earned that job. You got a contract because you’re good at what you do. Who cares how you got in the door? Now that you’re here, stay and prove Ms. Gladwell was right to have faith in you.”

“I guess you’re going to tell me not to return my car, either.”

“Well, you can’t return cars. You could sell it, but you’ll lose money. So I think you’re stuck with it, to be honest. And again, even if your parents are the ones who put that in motion, you’re the one making payments on it. It’s your car. Who cares how you got it in the first place?”

“Now are you going to say the same thing about Tyler? Who cares how it started, only that we’ve fallen in love with each other?”

She didn’t reply.

If she wasn’t going to speak, I still had some more complaining to do. “I did tell you and Delia, that night at the bar that I had a type. Men who suck up to my father. The streak continues.”