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
But I didn't even have to say no to Jace—Someone else was already waiting for me.Hayden stood by a sleek black motorcycle, rocking a black T-shirt and cargo pants, looking effortlessly cool.It was the first time I'd seen Hayden like this. And, okay, I wasn't blind. The whole bad boy vibe? Yeah, Jace used to nail that, too. All cocky, like he owned the world or something.I still remember the way my heart would practically sprint every time I hopped on the back of Jace's bike, arms wrapped tight around his waist, the wind whipping past us as we tore through the night."You're still into motorcycles?" Jace's voice pulled me out of the memory, and it had that same old edge, like he was daring me to answer.I just gave him a small smile and didn't bother responding. Instead, I walked straight to Hayden.Hayden spotted me and started making his way over. But before he could get close, someone else swooped in.Of course. Kylian.My big boss, stepping out of some fancy car. He was w
I wasn't exactly shocked when Tanya showed up. What did catch me off guard? The fact that she actually came to my job, instead of lurking outside my apartment or waiting at my door.It was obvious why she was here—Jace, of course.But I didn't have time for her drama, so I told my assistant to handle it. "Tell her I'm not available."Yet, when I stepped outside after work, guess who was still there? Yep, Tanya."Ms. Kay, she's been waiting half the day. She hasn't even touched the water we gave her, and she's pregnant. If something happens to her, it'll look bad," the receptionist warned me, clearly nervous.Great. Tanya was pulling the classic guilt trip move, trying to force me into meeting her.But I wasn't about to fall for it. If I gave in now, she'd make it a regular thing."If something happens, it's not our problem. Let her wait if she wants to." I breezed right past her without a second glance."Keira!" Tanya's voice sliced through the air, loud enough to make me freez