As soon as the word left my mouth, Hayden's grip tightened. His eyes narrowed, and for a split second, I saw something flicker in them before it disappeared.Then, just like that, he let go, and the pressure on my hand vanished.I quickly stepped aside, rubbing the spot where his grip had stung. "I made all the changes you asked for. Do you want to check them now?"Hayden didn't budge, still lounging in the chair with his eyes shut. "No need. You should get some rest.""Oh... Goodnight," I mumbled, turning to go."Kiki," Hayden suddenly called out.I froze mid-step. Did he just call me...?Kiki...That was my childhood nickname. The only people who ever called me that were my parents when they were alive, and Lena sometimes—but even she usually calls me Rea.But I heard him clearly—he just called me Kiki.I spun around, staring at him in shock. "What did you just say?""Nothing," he replied, still with his eyes closed. "Just... make sure you close the door properly."I star
When I woke up that morning, the dream was still fresh in my mind.It was the second time Hayden had appeared in my dreams, and I couldn't help but wonder—had we met before?I tried to shake it off, but I kept thinking about that dream of the boy carrying me on his back, the one with the mole on his shoulder. Hayden just happens to have a mole in the exact same spot.And then there was yesterday—he called me Kiki. I'm sure I heard it right, no mistake about it.I was lost in thought when Demi's voice snapped me back to reality. "Keira, when did you sneak back?"It was rare for Demi, the queen of sleep, to be up before her alarm.I knew what she was getting at and shot her a glare. "What do you mean, 'sneak back'?""Hehe," Demi giggled mischievously, "I thought maybe you spent the night with Mr. Hart.""What are you thinking?" I cut her off. "Why is your mind always in the gutter?""Come on, you're both adults and single. Isn't it normal for men and women to... you know?" Demi'
"Mr. Hart will pay, right?" Demi then turned to Hayden. "Is that cool with you, Mr. Hart?"I half expected Hayden to shut her down, but then he just said, "If she's up for it, sure."I was floored.Demi pinched my arm, her eyes wide with excitement, totally picking up on the weird vibe.Was Hayden just messing around, trying to stir up more drama?Before Demi could start gossiping, I forced a smile and said, "I'm not exactly broke, so I'm gonna pass.""Keira..."Hayden glanced at me, not saying a word.As we dug into breakfast, my phone buzzed. It was Ms. Brown, the landlord of the apartment across from mine. Figuring she had some news, I picked up. "Morning, Ms. Brown...""Keira, I hate to bother you this early," she said, her tone polite."No worries, what's up?" I replied, taking a sip of my milk."About that rental issue you mentioned, I spoke to the guy, but he wouldn't budge. He even refused compensation, so the situation's still tricky..." Ms. Brown's words had this w
The awkwardness was thick, but honestly, it was probably better that he knew.Hayden grabbed his phone, which he'd left on the table, and walked out. The second he was gone, Demi practically squealed, saying it was all over.But I didn't give it much thought. I never intended to pursue anything with Hayden, so whether he was mad or misunderstood the situation didn't really bother me.To me, Hayden was just a passing acquaintance. I had zero plans to get tangled up in another relationship. It wasn't like I was swearing off love because of one bad experience, but I just didn't have the emotional energy for it right now.After breakfast, I planned to drop Demi off at work before heading to a job interview.I'd only sent out my resume yesterday, so I was surprised when I got an interview invite this morning. The speed was unexpected, but hey, landing a job quickly sounded good to me.But as I reached the parking lot, I noticed Wayne's car parked there. He stepped out and opened the b
Her words hit me like a curveball."Lindey, I've already resigned, and I've got another interview lined up today.""What? That fast?" Lindey looked genuinely shocked."Honestly, I decided to leave the day Jace and I didn't get our marriage certificate," I said, meeting her gaze without flinching."Working with Jace after everything would just be... weird. Even if Jace didn't want me to quit, I was planning to leave after the amusement park project wrapped up," I explained, trying to keep things simple.Lindey shook her head. "It doesn't have to be like this, Rea. If it's awkward, you could transfer to another department or even a different branch. Just put some space between you two.""I get that you're worried I might struggle somewhere else, but I really want to see what's out there," I said, making my point clear.Tears welled up in Lindey's eyes again. She shook her head, whispering, "How did it end up like this? If you can't be my daughter-in-law, I can accept that, but now
As far as the conversation had gone, Lindey couldn't push any further, no matter what she was thinking.She nodded, saying, "Rea, you're like a daughter to me."But if she really saw me that way, there was no way she'd be okay with setting me up with Wayne. Then again, maybe it was Wayne's idea—he did confess his feelings to me, after all."Alright, maybe we could have a small ceremony when Wayne and Jace have some free time. I could officially become your and Matthew's goddaughter," I suggested, watching Lindey's expression falter for just a split second.It was clear she wasn't thrilled about making me her goddaughter.In Kehlmark, godfamilies were basically like extended family, with all the same social rules. If I became Lindey and Matthew's goddaughter, dating one of their sons would be straight-up incest.But I couldn't just ignore how kind she'd been to me for the past decade, and I wasn't about to let doubt mess that up."Okay," Lindey finally agreed.I drove her back t
I looked Jace straight in the eye. "What do you want? Here to demand some kind of compensation? Or maybe you're planning to sue me for, I don't know, assault?"His voice dropped, all cold and CEO-like. "What do you take me for?""I'm here to apologize. I was impulsive and reckless yesterday. You were right to hit me," he said, catching me completely off guard.I glanced at the bandage peeking out from under his cap and just nodded. "Good that you realize it."Jace let out this bitter laugh. "Rea, I've noticed you've become... a bit more ruthless."How exactly was I being ruthless? I didn't bother asking. Instead, I said, "What you did was wrong.""Yeah, I know. Yesterday was on me. And getting too close to Tanya, ignoring your feelings—that was on me too. Letting her stay in the penthouse I got for you, that was just messed up. Even giving her my sup card was wrong," Jace continued, reflecting on his screw-ups.I had no idea where he was going with this, but he didn't stop. "I'm
I got to the interview spot at eleven sharp. The office was kind of out of the way—not in the downtown area, but like a twenty-minute drive from my place, on the edge of the city.I'd already done some digging on this company. They were into lighting development and had even put in a bid for the amusement park's lighting gig, though they didn't end up getting it.Actually, when the amusement park had those lighting issues, I thought about hitting them up to help sort it out.These two things made me keep an eye on the company, and as luck would have it, they were hiring for a job that matched what I was good at—marketing and promotion.I applied to them first, and they were the first to call me in for an interview.The company had rented out an office building—not exactly as fancy as RiverwaveCorp Tower, but it still took up three floors. I rode the elevator to the right level and followed the signs to the HR office.As soon as I walked in, someone greeted me with a smile. "You m