Jack’s POV
The noise of the ballroom was nothing more than a dull hum in the back of my mind. The guests, the laughter, even my teammates’ casual banter—it all faded the moment I saw her humiliation. The slap, the way her face turned crimson, and the fragile way she stumbled out of the room like a cornered animal.
I should’ve let it go.
I should’ve turned back to my drink and ignored her, the way I’d trained myself to do all these years. But I couldn’t. Something about her haunted me, and no matter how much I told myself it wasn’t my problem, my feet moved on their own.
As she slipped through a side door into the quieter parts of the hotel, I followed.
The hallway was quieter than I expected, dimly lit with only the faint echoes of the bustling event behind us. I caught a glimpse of h
