Part 3Rejecting My Secretly Toxic Ex Boss

"Don't worry," Max whispered as we walked away. "Blair is actually an angel. She won't bite."

I gave a weak laugh. "Carter might be a nightmare to work for, but he clearly cares about her."

"Oh, totally," Max agreed, oblivious to my internal crisis. "I’ve never seen Carter go easy on anyone but her. Actually..."

Max paused, his eyes lighting up with the thrill of gossip. "Carter did have an ex-girlfriend a while back. He never talked about her. Blair knew about her, though. She never seemed to care."

My steps faltered. "What?"

Max snorted, leaning in conspiratorially. "Word on the street is, the Kensington family absolutely hated the ex. Mrs. Kensington even went to Blair to apologize for it, saying Carter was just going through a rebellious phase. Blair was totally cool about it. She said guys like Carter are bound to have a few flings, but eventually, he’d get bored and come back to where he belongs."

My fingers curled tightly into my palms. I didn't say a word.

So much history. So many machinations behind the scenes of my own life that I was entirely blind to.

"At the end of the day, Carter and Blair are the legacy match. Everyone knows they’re endgame," Max continued, fully caught up in his own storytelling. "Years ago, when Blair wanted to go into acting, her family threatened to cut her off. She had no one in her corner. So, Carter pivoted his whole degree to film directing just to legitimize her career to her parents. That’s the only reason they backed off."

"Why would he do that?" I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.

Max shot me a look like I was an idiot. "Because he loves her, obviously. If it weren't for Blair, Carter would be sitting in a boardroom right now with a business degree. A bond like that? Their families didn't stand a chance of keeping them apart."

"Oh," I mumbled.

"Honestly, you kind of have to feel bad for the ex-girlfriend," Max clicked his tongue in pity. "Carter gave his entire lifetime supply of softness to Blair. There was nothing left for anyone else."

I went entirely quiet.

In the three years I loved Carter, I never once felt pitiful.

He had been so incredibly attentive. Rich, gorgeous, and endlessly patient. Whenever I had a bad day, he would pull me onto his lap, bury his face in my neck, and whisper away my anxieties. He orchestrated elaborate surprises. He solved my problems before I even had to ask.

Even at the very end, he had been the picture of a gracious, heartbroken gentleman.

But hearing Max lay it all out like this... I felt completely unmoored.

Beneath the flawless surface of my most treasured relationship lay a labyrinth of secrets, condescension, and humiliation.

"Are you two just going to stand there all day?"

Carter’s voice cracked like a whip across the set.

Without another word, I turned and walked toward Blair’s trailer.