By admin Fake Dating My Ex’s Favourite Hockey Player Novel CH 121
Diana doesn’t even blink. “Living room Tessa’s-”
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flower vase. Kitchen
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top cabinet. Your bedroom corner of the wall near the window.
“Okay,” I cut in, already massaging the pressure building behind my eyes. “That’s enough. You’re getting them removed tomorrow.”
She shrugs like I just asked her to throw out old cereal. “Fine.”
I exhale slowly. “You said you got even. What does that mean?”
She finishes her sip of water, then tilts her head, like she’s walking me through something that should be obvious. “When you changed your name, you stopped being a Vanderbilt. I assumed you’d be smart enough to keep your past buried, not leave it lying around for anyone to pick through. But I forget sometimes my big sister doesn’t really think about consequences. You make choices in the moment. You don’t think about how they ripple.”
Her voice doesn’t rise, but it sharpens
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clean and cutting. “You didn’t just run away. You abandoned your family. You abandoned me. To go play house with a guy who was sleeping with half of Chicago.” She shakes her head slowly, disappointment flickering across her face like she’s trying to hide it and failing.
I feel my hands start to shake. I curl them into fists, digging my nails into my palms. “Don’t do that,” I say, forcing my voice to stay even. “You blamed me for what happened to Luther. Don’t stand here and act like you ever needed me.”
was a teenager,” she says. “Of course I blamed you. But I’m glad I did, honestly. It made things clearer. I’ve had to fight every day to hold onto what should’ve always been mine. And if you’d stayed, if you’d been in the picture, I would’ve had to fight you too. And Emilia, I wouldn’t have let you win.”
There’s no venom in her tone. That’s what makes it worse. She means it.
My chest tightens. “So what did you do?” I ask. “To get even?”
“Oh, I’m not mad about Luther anymore,” she says, almost offhandedly. “I was, for a while. But blaming you wasn’t fair. I know that now. And… I’m sorry. For that.”
The apology lands with a strange kind of weight. But she keeps going, and her voice hardens again.
“When everything about you hit the news, the market didn’t care that you weren’t technically one of us anymore. The headlines dragged Vanderbilt Holdings through the mud. Investors panicked. Stocks dipped. And I spent weeks cleaning it up. Do you have any idea what that’s like? Sitting in boardrooms being questioned about someone who hasn’t even spoken to you in years?”
She lets out a soft laugh. “So… yeah. I made Tessa think she was pregnant. Watched her spiral for a few days. It gave me something back
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a little balance. But we’re even now, so I’m not angry anymore. As long as you don’t cross any more lines, I’ll stay out of your way.”
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