Chapter 281

Even though I'd moved on from Jace, the sting of his actions lingered, like an old bruise refusing to fade.

"Rea, you poor thing," Lindey said, her eyes blazing with her characteristic fierce protectiveness. "You went through all that and didn't say a word? That place was supposed to be yours! You should have kicked her out! I wouldn't let a stray cat stay there, let alone her!"

No wonder Matthew always tiptoed around her. Besides loving her, he was probably terrified of incurring her wrath.

But Jace and I were history, so what was the point of revisiting this?

I tried to calm her down. "It's over, Lindey. Let it go."

"Maybe you're over it, but I'm not," she declared. "I'm getting that place back today."

I couldn't help but smile slightly. "Even if you evict her from that penthouse, Jace can just buy her another one."

Tanya might have been caught in the middle, but Jace was the one who put her there. He was the real problem, not her.

"If he buys another one, that's his problem," Lindey said. "But that penthouse was meant for you. No other woman deserves to live there."

Her words warmed my heart. It felt like she was defending me as a mother would.

"I really appreciate it, but it's not worth it, Lindey," I said, trying to dissuade her. "You don't need to go through all this trouble and upset yourself over something that's in the past." If she proceeded, Jace would definitely think I was behind it. And the last thing I needed was to be dragged back into that mess or have Tanya believe I was trying to one-up her.

"I'm not upset. I'm going to make them so mad they'll want to scream. Don't worry about it."

She was beyond reasoning. There was no talking her out of it, so I sighed and let it go.

"That rascal hiding his side chick in your own house… if I see him, I'll knock his teeth out!" she ranted before hanging up.

I put my phone down and stared at the ceiling, replaying the memory of Gavin showing me the penthouse. How had Lindey even found out about that day? I was pretty sure Jace still had no idea why I'd actually broken up with him.

I lay there for a while, lost in thought, before finally getting up and heading outside. I didn't see Hayden and figured he might be in the kitchen, but no, he wasn't there either. Maybe he'd gone back to his room? I was about to turn around when I heard the bathroom door open, and Hayden walked out.

He looked at me, his gaze different than usual, and my heart skipped a beat, a strange, uneasy feeling washing over me. Thinking about how we'd almost gotten carried away earlier, I awkwardly pouted, trying to break the tension. "I'm hungry. Make me something delicious."

But Hayden didn't take the bait. Instead, he walked right up to me. My heart sped up, thinking he was about to continue where we'd left off, so I raised my hand, ready to stop him. But instead, he asked, "What's this?"

I looked down and saw he was holding the ointment Lena had given me. I'd left it in the bathroom, planning to use it after my shower that night. I hadn't expected Hayden to find it.

Instinctively, I snatched it from his hand and hid it behind my back, my face heating up. "Why are you touching my stuff?"

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his voice low and serious.

I was too embarrassed to respond, so I bolted into the bedroom and slammed the door.

Half an hour later, there was a knock. "Dinner's ready. Come out and eat." I stayed quiet, too mortified to face him. After a pause, he added, "I'm leaving now."

I breathed a sigh of relief and, feeling my stomach growl, cracked the door open. But there he was, leaning against the doorframe as if he'd been waiting.

He'd tricked me!

"Hayden, you—" I started, but didn't get a chance to finish before he reached out, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. He pressed his forehead gently against mine. "I'm sorry. It's my fault…"

Chapter 282