Hernan's laugh boomed, and heads turned—not the good kind. Even Yara glanced over, making my cheeks burn. Annoyed, I swatted his arm. "Dude, cut it out."He winced, pulling back. Right, his arm was still healing—thanks to Hayden.I couldn't help but think—"eye for an eye" was classic guy move, especially with someone like Hernan. So I asked, "Hayden's here today. You gonna go after him?"Hernan glanced Hayden's way, sizing him up. "If he stays in his lane, I'll let it slide... for now."My heart skipped. "What's that mean?"Hernan turned back to me, a smug glint in his eyes. "If he doesn't try to steal you, we're good."Steal me? Could that be what Yara hinted at earlier? Was Hayden planning something?If he was, he sure hadn't told me. But clearly, Hernan had sensed it and was on alert.I stared at the back of Hayden's head, feeling a knot form in my stomach."If he tries to rescue you, would you go?" Hernan's voice cut through my thoughts.If I went with Hayden, Hernan woul
Guess you can't expect a wolf to go vegan.Jace had told me Hernan wanted Steve to win, so all I could do was hope Steve would make it through okay.The match started, and Steve stepped onto the court, eyes darting around.He scanned the front row, exchanged glances with Hayden and Jace, then kept searching the seats, looking for... someone.When his gaze finally landed on me, his face tensed up.Then Hernan raised his hand in a quick wave—a reminder, or maybe a threat."See that?" Hernan murmured in my ear. "He's nervous.""If he's nervous, he'll lose," I shot back."Wrong. You don't get human nature. A wolf's most excited when it smells blood. People aren't much different."I glared, but Hernan barely noticed, already absorbed in the match. "Why do you think Steve cares about you?"I wanted to say it was loyalty—that's just who Steve was. But I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't feeding Hernan's twisted games.Hernan turned and tilted his head. "Think he has feelings for you, to
The crowd went nuts, but honestly, I couldn't tell if they were hyped or just losing it. Definitely wasn't what I expected.I just stood there as some random guy snagged the ball mid-air. He started yelling like he'd won the lottery. "Number five! Number five is mine!" He even kissed the ball and climbed onto his seat, celebrating like a maniac.The rest of the crowd? Not so thrilled."Refund!""Refund!"You could practically see their wallets crying. Most of them were there for one thing—watching Steve crush it.When he missed that shot? Oh, they weren't just disappointed; they were pissed. And it wasn't just because of the botched play; a ton of them had money riding on him. Like, big money. Probably two-thirds of the room was convinced Steve was a sure thing.But now? With that ball sailing off the table, their cash was pretty much gone with it.I snapped out of my daze. Steve wasn't the type to mess up like that unless... unless he meant to.It hit me—he'd figured it out.
I froze, not knowing what to say.Before I could react, someone in the crowd shouted, "The organizers keep letting their own people play. This is rigged! How about I go up instead? If she beats me, we'll forget that last mistake."I turned toward the voice.It was Yara, standing with Hayden next to her, looking as calm as ever, his eyes locked on me with that same steady stare.This woman wasn't just bold; she was good. She had the guts to challenge me in front of everyone, which meant she had to be at least as skilled as she was confident.The crowd immediately started chanting, "Let her play! Let her play!"The announcer glanced over at Hernan, who gave a small nod.He then announced that Yara would be joining me."Ms. Kay, I look forward to learning from you," Yara said, stepping forward and offering her hand.I didn't know her real intentions, but I couldn't back down now. I was already on stage, practically shoved into the spotlight.For Steve, for my own pride—I couldn'
Thud!Thud!One ball after another sank perfectly into the pockets, each shot met with louder cheers. My aim was on fire, and the crowd was actually starting to root for me.With Hayden watching nearby, a thought popped into my head: 'Keira, show him a side of you he's never seen.'We'd been together a while, but he'd never watched me play snooker. My skills were tied to memories with Jace, and I'd always worried it might stir something up if Hayden found out.But here I was, putting it all on display for him.Thud!I lined up my next shot, sent the cue ball spinning toward the pocket... but it stopped just short. Ugh. Close, but not quite. Now it was Yara's turn.The crowd went wild, switching sides to cheer her on as she took her place at the table.It was funny—neither Yara nor I were professionals, yet somehow, the crowd had split into full-on fan sections for us, like we were fierce rivals.Yara picked up her cue, leaning over the table with that practiced, graceful stan
"He doesn't dare to speak!" Hernan's voice cut through the darkness just as the lights came back on.He stood not far away, a cold, twisted smile at the corners of his mouth.So, I'd been right—this was his plan all along. There was never any real chance of escape, and now we'd only managed to provoke him.Without thinking, I yanked the person holding my hand behind me, stepping forward protectively.Hernan sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "Haddy, are you really so pathetic now? Hiding behind a woman?"Haddy?Was he talking about... Hayden? But where was Hayden?Then, the person I'd pulled behind me stepped forward, and I heard a voice I knew way too well. I turned, stunned. Standing beside me, hand still in mine, was Hayden.Wait... Hayden? I could've sworn it was Steve leading me.I stared at him, completely thrown. Hayden's intense gaze was fixed on Hernan. "If you don't want to lose face, then step aside."The confidence in his voice was unmistakable, and I could
Hernan's gaze flicked to Hayden holding my hand, and he raised an eyebrow. "So, it's because of this, huh? Haddy's loyal, you know that, right?"In the middle of what felt like a showdown, Hernan was somehow calm enough to be all chatty."Haddy," he went on, "you thought breaking up with this girl and parading around with someone else would fool me? You must think I'm a total idiot."My heart skipped a beat, hard.I glanced at Hayden, hoping for a reaction, but he stayed silent.Hernan, ever the drama queen, turned to me. "Keira, I bet you don't even realize how loyal this guy is."He once had a dog, and after it died? Never got another one. Won't even look twice at a dog on the street now."A guy like that? Once he loves someone, he's not sharing his heart with anyone else."He gave a smug little smirk. "Right, Haddy?"Something tightened in my throat. I got what Hernan was implying—that Hayden's breakup with me and his engagement to Yara had all been a setup, a way to keep m
Hayden looked at me, his expression unreadable. Then he turned to Jace. "Take her away."Those three words snapped me back to reality.What was I doing? Was I really letting a few words from him mess with my head?I loosened my grip, and Hayden glanced at me once before striding off without another word. Jace tugged my arm. "Come on, let's go."Though my mind was still reeling, I realized the whole takedown of Hernan had been part of a plan—something Hayden and Jace had set up well in advance.Apparently, I was the only one who hadn't been told."When did you set all this up?" I asked Jace.He hesitated. "After I got back from Houston last time."It was right after that trip that Hayden broke up with me.So Hernan was telling the truth?I didn't have time to fully process it, so I pressed Jace. "Why didn't any of you tell me?"He looked conflicted, like he didn't want to answer.I pieced it together myself. "This was Hayden's idea, wasn't it?""He didn't want to drag you i