At Steve's pool hall, Jace took a shot and missed all the balls.Steve shook his head lightly while wiping his cue. "Keira still hasn't replied to your message?"Jace stayed silent. Steve aimed at the most awkwardly placed ball on the table. With a thud, the ball glided smoothly into the pocket."Doesn't make sense. She wasn't mad when you talked to her, so why is she being stubborn now?" Steve was puzzled.Jace thought about the time Keira had come to play pool. "What did she ask you about back then?"Steve pocketed another ball and perched himself on the pool table. "I told you, she asked if anything was going on between you, Tanya, and Desmond in school. I told her no, so her leaving has nothing to do with me.""I'm not blaming you. Why are you so defensive?" Jace said bitterly.Steve looked at the last ball on the table but glanced at Jace instead of taking the shot. "You really don't know why she left? Why she refused to marry you?""I don't know. She's just throwing a tan
At three in the afternoon, I got off the plane and went straight to the amusement park without even dropping off my luggage.Demi was there, and as soon as she saw me, she hugged me tightly. "Keira, you're finally back."I patted her shoulder. "Come on, let's check out a few spots first."I had barely slept the night before, stressing over what could go wrong. Even though I suspected the construction company and the lighting supplier, it seemed unlikely they'd mess up. This project was huge, and any mistake would cost them big time, both in money and reputation.I figured there might be other problems, but as a non-professional, I couldn't exactly pinpoint them. I needed to see for myself.We turned the lights on and off, comparing everything to the design plans. I was busy until two in the morning."Keira, you're like a volcano erupting after a week of dormancy," Demi joked, exhausted.Had it really been a week? I couldn't even tell anymore.Without wasting time, Demi and I he
Jace sat in his chair, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and a tie dotted with stars.That tie was a birthday gift from me last year. He'd never worn it before, probably because he didn't like it. But now, after our breakup, he had started wearing it.His expression was grim, eyes locked onto me with fierce intensity. I knew why he was angry, but I calmly began, "Mr. Johnston, what do you need?""Where have you been?" His voice was icy."On vacation," I replied, dodging the question.Jace's fingers curled on the desk. "I asked where you went.""Chiverton," I said honestly. I had nothing to hide.His frown deepened, confusion flashing in his eyes. He probably had no clue where Chiverton was.It was a small, obscure town. How would he know?If he cared about me, he'd remember I mentioned it before. It's where I was born, where my parents wanted to take me.But he had heard it and forgotten, just because he didn't care enough to remember."Touring that place?" Jace's q
Jace raised his hand, tugging at his tie. "Rea, what the heck are you even trying to do? Why'd you bail on our marriage registration and then just disappear?"The convo had shifted from business to personal stuff, which was his main worry."I'm not causing trouble," I said firmly."This isn't causing trouble? Do you have any idea how crazy things have been at home? My mom was so upset she ended up in the hospital," Jace snapped.Hearing that Lindey was hospitalized made me feel guilty, but that didn't change anything. My guilt toward Matthew and Lindey couldn't erase the pain Jace had put me through."I'll explain and apologize to your mom.""That's not the point. Why didn't you want to register our marriage?" Jace tugged at his collar.I thought, 'He's the one who cheated, yet he acts like I'm the one at fault. Fine, if that's how he wants to play it, I'll make it clear who's really been wronged.'I lowered my gaze, staring at his wristwatch. "I went to Splendor Heights."The
Jace didn't say anything for a long time, then nodded mockingly. "If you're doing that just to throw a fit, go ahead."Even now, he didn't think he was wrong. He still blamed me.I couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore. "I'll move out of your family's house.""My family house?" Jace's dark eyes narrowed. "Rea, you never really saw it as home, did you? My parents' love for you was just wasted."I pressed my lips together. He didn't get that it wasn't his parents' love I needed; it was his.I had already decided to break up with him, so there was no point in arguing anymore."Mr. Johnston, I have work to do," I said, not mentioning my resignation since I planned to finish the amusement park project first."Are you seriously breaking up with me?" Jace asked again.Maybe he didn't catch it the first time. I looked at him, the face I'd admired for ten years, and gave my final answer. "Yeah, Jace, I'm breaking up with you. From now on, we're done. We'll marry other people an
"It's not your fault. Everyone looks out for themselves first. It's human nature," I said sincerely, not blaming Demi.Demi and I were close, but even between best friends, self-preservation comes first."Keira, I—" Demi grabbed my arm, trying to say something else.I cut her off. "Mr. Johnston made it clear: if we don't fix the lighting issue, it's on us. We don't have time for anything else. Let's just get this done."Demi's eyes went wide. "But it's not our fault. They're acting like we messed up.""We're in charge of this project. Any problems are on us. No excuses. If we don't want to deal with the fallout, we need to fix it," I said, keeping my voice firm.Demi nodded silently and turned away, muttering, "He's doing this out of spite."I got it—Jace's actions were totally driven by his issues with me.I sighed. I knew it all too well. But the more he pushed, the more determined I was to resolve the issue flawlessly, leaving him no room to complain.Besides, this amusemen
Tanya's little schemes were totally exposed by me, and she looked super uncomfortable.Even so, she tried to keep her high moral stance. "So, you just assume there's something between Jace and me?"I thought, 'Do I need to assume? Doesn't she know what she's done?'But I kept my cool and didn't say anything harsh.Tanya's eyes turned red as she said, "I didn't expect people to have such dirty and vile thoughts nowadays."I couldn't help but scoff inwardly, 'Look at her, acting all noble.'She continued, "Keira, Jace is a good guy. If you can't even trust him, you don't deserve him."It was all a buildup to suggest that I was the one unworthy of Jace.So, she had more to say.I kept silent, waiting for her to continue her act.Sure enough, she wiped her almost-tearful eyes and said, "Keira, are you really not going to cherish Jace anymore?She was setting a trap for me. Did she think I was naive?I smirked. "If I say I don't want him, are you going to say you do?"Tanya's f
I gulped down over half the glass. "He left Chiverton a while ago.""Hmm?" Lena sat cross-legged across from me, her face curious."I turned him down, so he left. Apparently, he had work to do," I said, making Lena pause."He left? Didn't he try harder?" Lena shook her head. "This guy lacks persistence.""He knows when to back off; he's not the clingy type," I said, thinking about Hayden's rugged and sturdy demeanor.Lena tilted her head, looking at me. "If he had tried a bit harder, would you have—""No," I cut her off. "I won't use one person to heal the wounds another man caused.""So, no one can easily replace Jace," Lena concluded.I gave a faint smile. "Jace agreed to break up with me."Lena was stunned.I put down my glass. "I'm just here to shower and change before heading to the Johnstons. I need to clear things up with Matthew and Lindey. Jace and I... we're done."As I said it, I lowered my head.It wasn't that I didn't want to let go, or that I felt relieved. It