Chapter 48

It had been a week since Archer ditched our date night. For the first three days, I was furious—angry even. But as the days passed, and still no texts or calls from him, my anger shifted into something else—worry.

My thoughts were preoccupied with what happened with Damien, too. Every channel, every article—it was all about Damien. His name plastered on the screen, tied to an illegal street car race. My heart dropped when I read about the crash. An innocent woman and her child... gone. I was angry at him, furious for putting himself in that situation. For making that choice.

The case was still ongoing. Alpha Steven hadn’t held a press conference yet, and everything just felt... off.

I was sitting in the living room, my eyes glued to the TV as the reporter droned on about the details. My mother, clearly tired of it, grabbed the remote and turned the screen off with a click.

“If anyone asks if you’re involved with Damien, tell them you’ve cut him off,” she said sharply, not looking at m