Chapter 257

Jace's tone was harsh. "Jace, I get it. Your mom doesn't like me, and nothing I do will change that. I'm sorry you're stuck dealing with this because of me," Tanya said, finally acknowledging the truth. Her apology felt overly humble, almost self-flagellating. But what had she actually done wrong? If anything, she was guilty of loving him too much, enduring the drama to be with him.

"It's my choice to deal with this, but stop making it worse," Jace snapped, his annoyance palpable.

"Wait, Jace, what are you talking about? I don't understand," Tanya said, her voice softening, as if attempting to appear more delicate.

"What's going on with Brad?" Jace's implication of blame was clear.

"What about Brad? Did he mess up again? Did you have to clean up after him?" Tanya asked, her voice slightly shaky.

Jace scoffed. "You really don't know?"

"Jace, seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about," Tanya said, her anxiety evident. She sounded genuinely afraid of being wrongly accused.

"Brad's chasing Keira," Jace revealed. I felt Hayden's grip tighten around me.

I glanced up at Hayden. His eyebrows were furrowed. I was about to explain, but Tanya interjected, defensively: "No way."

"Oh, really?" Jace retorted. "He sent her flowers. To her office."

Tanya paused, her voice barely a whisper when she finally spoke. "He's probably just playing around. I mean, Keira molested him, didn't she?"

I was stunned. I'd already cleared that up. The police had reviewed security footage, proving Brad had lied. I couldn't believe Tanya was still trying to blame me.

"Do you really think I don't know what's going on?" Jace's voice was tight with anger.

"Let's just drop it, okay? I swear, I had no idea Brad was pursuing Keira. I'll call him right now and tell him to stop," Tanya said, desperation lacing her voice.

Jace remained silent. Tanya hesitated, then softened her tone. "Think about it. Why would I ever encourage him to pursue Keira? What if she said yes just to spite me? That would backfire spectacularly."

At least she understood that much.

"But how did he know Keira likes white wild roses? That's not common knowledge," Jace pressed, unconvinced.

"I have no idea. I didn't even know she liked them. I've only ever seen you give her white roses," Tanya said.

Jace fell silent, and my mind raced. How did Brad know about the white wild roses? Had he been stalking me?

Before I could dwell on it, Ron interrupted, "Are you two planning to keep hugging, or what? If you don't stop, the food's going to get cold."

Only then did I realize I was still in Hayden's arms. My face flushed, and I quickly stepped back.

"Uh, you guys go eat. I should get going," I mumbled, attempting a hasty exit, but I hadn't noticed Hayden's hand still on me.

Turning, I saw Jace and Tanya staring. Jace looked furious, and Tanya's face was pale. I pretended not to notice and turned back to Hayden. "Seriously, go eat. I need to leave."

"Alright. We'll head out together after lunch. I'll wait for you," Hayden said, his eyes soft.

I nodded and pulled away. He and Ron went to their room, and I headed to the one Lindsey had booked. To get there, I had to pass Jace and Tanya – an unavoidable and awkward encounter.