Chapter 557
The burning ache in my throat spread straight to my heart. As silence hung on Hayden’s end, I forced myself to say, “I won’t bother you while you’re picking out rings. Goodbye.” Then I hung up, pressing the button so hard it felt like I was crushing my own heart along with the call.
I stood there, frozen, until Jace walked over. The second he got close, I dropped my head and hurried toward the elevator. “Wait here. I’m just going to pack my things,” I mumbled as I passed him.
“I’ll go up with you,” he said.
“There’s no need. I can handle it myself,” I replied, my voice sharper than I intended, quickening my pace.
But Jace followed anyway. “What’s wrong?” He could tell something was off.
The bitterness clawing at my chest nearly broke me then and there. I felt myself on the edge, seconds from falling apart, from letting everything spill out in front of him. But I couldn’t. Not in front of Jace.
When I’d chosen to be with Hayden, I’d been so sure, practically bragging to Jace that it was what I wanted, that Hayden was the right choice. And now, it all felt like it was coming back to hit me where it hurt most.
I forced down the pain, keeping my voice steady. “Jace, it’s not appropriate for you to come up with me.”
He didn’t even blink. “I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just worried something might happen. I’ll stay by the door. I won’t go in.”
Jace wasn’t going inside, and I didn’t want him going back downstairs either. Right now, I needed a moment to gather up the shattered pieces of my bleeding heart.
I thought I’d moved on from Hayden. But that single line on the phone? It ripped the illusion to shreds. I hadn’t let him go at all. I still cared, more than I wanted to admit. One sentence, and I was already falling apart.
“What could happen? Aren’t you being a little too paranoid?” I snapped, my frustration spilling over onto Jace.
His expression darkened, but he didn’t argue. He just stepped into the elevator beside me.
Trapped in that small, closed space with him felt suffocating, like being tangled up in vines that were only tightening.
The floor numbers blinked by, each one adding weight to the pressure in my chest. Just when I thought I was going to lose it, the elevator finally reached my floor, and the doors slid open.
I stepped out quickly, Jace following.
“I’ll be right here. Call me if you need anything,” he said quietly as we reached my door. I didn’t respond. I just opened the door and went in, slamming it shut behind me. I leaned back against the door, gripping the hard surface, fighting the tight, painful knot rising in my throat.
But with Jace just outside, I couldn’t let myself completely break. I bit my lip, hard, tasting blood, but even that couldn’t dull the ache. Still, the tears started to slip free. I closed my eyes, trying to will them back, but it was useless.
Slowly, I slid down to the floor, curling up by the door, burying my face against my knees. Images of Hayden proposing, the things he’d promised, flooded my mind. How could he go from that to ring shopping with someone else so fast?
Here I was, halfway around the world, facing real danger with people watching my every move. And him? He was back home, calmly planning his wedding with his fiancée. No wonder he’d sent me here and put people on me. This wasn’t protection—it was surveillance. He was making sure I didn’t show up and mess up his plans.
The more I thought about it, the harder it got to breathe. My heart felt like it might actually break, like I could die from the sheer pain of it.
I forced myself to lift my head, desperate to clear my mind. But as soon as I looked up, I froze. Sitting across from me, watching quietly, was a man I hadn’t noticed before.
He looked at me with this strange mix of pity and disdain, like I was some lost, pathetic creature. When our eyes met, he didn’t look away or even seem surprised I’d noticed him. Instead, he shook his head slowly, almost disappointed.
Every muscle in my body tensed. For a moment, I was too shocked to even be scared. “Who are you?” I blurted. “How did you get into my room?”