Chapter 139. Pushes First

They say one bad act can erase a thousand good ones, that one cruel moment can change the way you see a person completely. Maybe that’s true for most people. Maybe that’s how pride protects us, by making us remember the hurt more than the kindness.

But in Calla’s case, it was the opposite.

Seeing Rico broken, drunk, and alone on the cold floor of his dark office, erased everything else.

It erased the harsh words he had thrown at her like weapons. It erased the way he had shoved her away whenever she came too close. It even blurred the memory of him lodging her against the mirror, the sharp crack of glass shattering behind her, the sting on her forehead. All of it faded beneath the image of him sitting there with his back against the table, shoulders slumped, and pride nowhere to be found.

Call her foolish, weak, and blind. Call her