Chapter 568
Hernan wasn’t just talking big; he really didn’t show up again until the day of the match. If he said Hayden would be there, he wasn’t bluffing. Not that it mattered to me anymore. Turns out, even the deepest love can’t survive too much disappointment. Jace, once upon a time, and now Hayden—both proved that, no problem.
Herman came back early on the third morning. I was sitting on the terrace in a rocking chair, watching the sunrise. He waved up at me from the ground floor. When I looked down, I saw him standing there in a tan suit and white slacks, holding a bouquet of white roses. At over six feet tall, with that build, he looked like he should be on a runway somewhere.
“Come down,” Hernan called up to me.
I went downstairs. As soon as I reached him, he handed me the flowers and pulled me into his arms. “Good morning, my princess.”
Okay, I had to admit, he was kind of romantic. Hayden showed me love, but it was always this careful, reserved thing. He never held me like this, all open and passionate. But I wasn’t used to Hernan’s embrace, so I shoved him away. “We shouldn’t be casually touching like this. Don’t hug me without permission.”
I started to notice something: Hernan had infinite patience with me. The more I pushed him away, the more intrigued he seemed. I guess when you’re someone like him, used to everyone falling in line, a little resistance must be…refreshing?
“Haha, ‘we shouldn’t touch casually,’ huh?” he teased, laughing as he strolled over to the couch.
I followed him. “When do we leave for the match?”
“No rush. It won’t start without me,” he said, making it clear he could control the whole event if he wanted. This wasn’t anything new to me. It was not just snooker—sports in general are filled with shady dealings. Thinking about how people like him rig things and deny real athletes a fair shot made my blood boil. “Hernan, don’t you ever feel guilty about this?”
“I did at first, but you get used to it,” he said honestly, and somehow that made me even more furious.
The last few days had been me stuck on his estate, killing time on the terrace, pretending to relax. But only I knew how suffocating it really was. I kept telling myself to make the best of it, but being here, even without bars on the windows, felt like being trapped. And now, his casual answer only made things worse.
“Heartless!” I snapped, storming off toward my room.
“Feeling cooped up?” he asked suddenly.
“I’ve been stuck here for three days. What do you think?”
As I reached for the door, he called after me. “Then go change. I’ll take you to see someone.”
My hand froze on the doorknob. Unease crawled up my spine. I turned back to look at him. “Steve?”
I wanted to ask if he meant Hayden, but I held it back. I couldn’t let him see how much I still cared. Letting Hernan know how much Hayden mattered to me would just give him more leverage, and I wasn’t about to hand him any more control over me. Just because I was done with Hayden didn’t mean I wanted to see him hurt—or worse, dragged into something dangerous by Hernan.
“You’ll find out when we get there,” Hernan said, all mystery in his tone. In his world, he made the rules. I changed and went with him.
“Not bad. You look good,” he said, giving me a once-over.
I was wearing a white blouse and black high-waisted trousers. Normally, I’d pair it with heels, but not today. Heels are too much of a hassle. I went with sneakers instead.
“This outfit’s nice…but those shoes…” Hernan raised an eyebrow, looking amused but also slightly disapproving.
“They’re comfortable,” I replied simply, shutting down any further commentary. He was the one who told me to wear what I liked, so that’s exactly what I was doing. And honestly, despite being technically his “hostage,” I felt surprisingly at ease around him. I wasn’t constantly on edge, even started acting a little bratty. I pushed back, challenged him, stepped on his toes on purpose.
“As long as you’re comfortable,” Hernan said, squinting slightly, his eyes gleaming with amusement. “But…aren’t you worried Haddy’s fiancée will outshine you?”
Chapter 569