Lindey was on a roll now. "She's only this bold because that idiot Jace keeps protecting her. She's wading in deeper, thinking she'll get away with it. But I swear, I'll make sure she regrets it.""Lindey, let's just figure out what she said to Matthew first," I tried, hoping to calm her down."What else could it be? She wants us to accept her, to let her into this family," Lindey snapped, like Tanya had already made her plans crystal clear."She's delusional. Even if every woman on Earth disappeared and Jace stayed single forever, I'd never let her into this family," Lindey snapped, her words sharp enough to cut through steel.I knew she was just venting, too angry to hold back. So, I didn't try to reason with her. I let her get it all out.After a few more harsh words, she finally started to calm down. "Rea, just wait and see how I deal with that woman."Her words dragged up a memory from my early years with the Johnstons. Back then, Lindey and Matthew had nearly divorced. I'd
Wait—she was on the phone with Hayden? His phone was finally on?That was my first thought, but I stayed put, listening as Yuna continued."Hayden, Keira's ex was looking at her kinda weird. I'm pretty sure he still has feelings for her."Did you two have a fight or something? Keira seems... off."Why haven't you been answering? Your phone's been off, and you're not replying to messages. What's going on?""I'm telling you, if you mess this up and lose Keira, I'm not gonna forgive you."Hayden, come on, answer your messages, pick up your phone..."I couldn't help but smile at that. It was obvious now—Yuna wasn't on the phone with Hayden; she was leaving him voice messages. Still, where was he? Why wasn't he answering or calling back?Not wanting Yuna to feel awkward if she realized I'd overheard her, I made sure to open the door a little louder this time as I stepped back inside."Keira!" Yuna called out when she heard me.I walked over, noticing how she quickly tucked her pho
The answer was easy. "Nope. Not a chance."Yuna frowned. "That won't do. When Hayden gets back, I'm making him marry you right away. Once you're married, no one can steal you."Such a romantic. She didn't know there's a little thing called divorce.But I just smiled and played along. "Fine by me. I've been waiting on that proposal forever.""Really?" Yuna's face lit up. She whipped out her phone and sent a voice message to Hayden, her excitement almost contagious. "Hayden, Keira's just waiting for you to propose! Hurry up and come back already!"I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculously adorable she was.But after hitting send, Yuna sighed. "Why isn't he answering? What if something happened to him?"Her words made my heart do this weird little flip, but I couldn't let her see that. I forced a grin and shrugged. "Maybe he got swept off his feet by some gorgeous lady along the way."Yuna shot me a playful look. "Not a chance. Hayden's had like, a million admirers, and he's n
I closed my eyes, finally letting the worry about him fade a little. "Where are you?""I'm outside the apartment."My stomach dropped. I could picture him standing there, all alone at the old place. He didn't know I'd moved out. Of course, he went back there.I had moved out. Since I couldn't get ahold of Hayden, he had no idea, so of course, he'd gone back to the old place."You didn't have your phone on you. I asked Yuna, and she said you went home. Lena was in surgery, so I couldn't reach her either," Hayden explained.I took a deep breath, letting my eyes drift over my new, unfamiliar apartment. "I couldn't reach you either.""I know," he replied, his voice soft.A bittersweet smile tugged at my lips.Before I could ask why he'd been unreachable, he added, "I'll explain everything when I see you. Did you move?"Yeah, I had moved. And Hayden didn't know about this place.He'd talked about renting somewhere new and asked me to move in with him. I had said yes. But with him
A wave of sadness hit me, my nose tingling like I was about to cry. "Seriously, Hayden? I didn't think you'd be this petty. You won't even hear me out?""I'm not ignoring you," he shot back. "I called you, but you didn't pick up."I could totally picture him losing it, scrolling through security footage, finding out I'd left with Jace.Jace had already told me Hayden was looking for me. I grabbed Hayden's hand. "I wasn't ignoring you on purpose. I was in the ICU.""I know," he said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "That's why I'm not mad. And as for why you couldn't reach me, you'll see soon."His eyes flicked to the apartment building. "I haven't slept or even had water since you left last night. I'm exhausted and thirsty."His words made my heart ache. I walked ahead, scolding him. "You knew I had to leave for something serious. Why didn't you rest? And what's this about not drinking water?"He didn't answer, so I dropped it and hurried us inside.As soon as we got through
I trailed behind Tanya all the way to my building. She waltzed in through the front door like she owned the place and hopped on the elevator.When the elevator dinged to her floor, I could only think of two words: soap opera.She was living right above me.Like, was this some weird coincidence? Or was the universe just playing a bad joke on me?Either way, it was seriously annoying.Luckily, my neighbors were pretty much ghosts, so fingers crossed I'd never run into Tanya. But with the way she waddled—super pregnant and looking like she was about to pop—I wasn't sure how long my luck would last.Tanya, broke-as-a-joke Tanya, suddenly living in a fancy building like this? Yeah, I didn't even need to guess who was bankrolling her lifestyle.Jace. He was a pro at this. Pretending he still cared about me while being a complete jerk behind the scenes.Thinking about it, dumping him and walking away from his lies was probably the best decision I'd ever made.That's why Hayden didn't
Back when I was still with Jace, I'd always tell him to stop being so closed off, to try and be more chill so people wouldn't think he was some kind of untouchable.He used to listen, kind of. But now? He was standing there, totally cut off from everyone."Ever since you guys broke up, Jace has been like this," Steve grumbled, shaking his head. "Dude walks around like the world owes him something."I gave him a small smile, dodging the comment. "Steve, I need a favor."I knew he was swamped with competitions and all, but this wasn't something I could ask anyone else.Steve raised a brow, immediately suspicious. "Let's hear it."I bit my lip. "I need help figuring out what really happened with my parents' car accident."His face immediately darkened as I handed over the accident report, along with my theory. "You're the only one I trust to do this.""Rea, what's the point?" Steve asked.I looked down at the floor. "I know it won't bring them back, but I need to know. I need som
"Keira, are you with Jace right now? Could you ask him to take my call?" Tanya's voice cut through the silence in the room.You could practically hear everyone gasp, their eyes bouncing between me, the phone, and Jace.I didn't care what they were thinking, and I definitely wasn't looking at Jace. Keeping my cool, I replied, "Did you call the wrong number? Why are you asking me to chase down your boyfriend?"The room was so quiet, it felt like time had frozen."He's not answering my calls," Tanya's voice was all shaky and pathetic.I smirked. "Oh, and you think he'll answer just because I tell him to?"Before she could respond, Jace stormed over, snatched the phone out of my hand, and ended the call.I glanced up at his furious face, my amusement barely hidden. "Wow, Mr. Johnston, doing that's just gonna make her think I'm the one keeping you from talking to her."Without a word, he grabbed my wrist and started dragging me toward the door."Jace," Steve stood up, his voice ful