Chapter 676

“Rea, what’s with the wheelchair?” Jace’s voice cut through the chatter.

I turned to see him walking over with Aaron. Jace rocked a crisp white shirt, while Aaron was in all black. Total opposites, but together? They had that annoying “main character energy” that turned heads.

“Wow, look at that,” Lena muttered. “Everyone decided to show up today.”

No kidding. All this fuss over a light show? Wild. But I knew why Lena was snippy—Aaron. She’d rather choke on her coffee than deal with him, but since he was a client here for the event, we had to play nice.

Jace came up fast, his eyes locking on my legs. “Where are you hurt?”

“It’s just a scraped knee. Chill, I’m fine,” I said, trying to downplay it.

Jace wasn’t buying it. “Yeah, sure. Totally fine in a wheelchair?”

Lena jumped in before I could answer. “Oh, that’s on your brother. He freaked out, said if she didn’t use the chair, he’d carry her instead. So, here we are.”

She smirked, totally owning the moment. Jace’s face darkened, but Lena? She couldn’t care less. She still held a grudge over, well… everything. And she never passed up a chance to twist the knife.

“Actually,” she added with a sly smile, “the chair’s pretty handy. It’s great for her recovery. You know, your brother’s way ahead of you in the ‘thoughtful and caring’ department.”

Mic drop.

Jace’s jaw clenched, and from the corner of my eye, I caught Aaron smirking like he was enjoying the drama. He stepped forward. “So, where are you ladies off to?”

“To check out some eye candy,” Lena shot back, all sass, before wheeling me toward the backstage area.

The light show tonight wasn’t just about tech—it had a live segment with male models decked out in glowing body art. As soon as we rolled in, the models were already lined up. Their matching costumes made them almost blend together, but Lena’s eagle eye zeroed in.

“Holy abs. Every one of them is a walking thirst trap,” she whispered, practically gawking.

“Maybe focus on their faces instead of their six-packs,” I reminded her.

“Yeah, but I can’t see them properly from here. Can we get closer?” She craned her neck like a meerkat.

Before we could, a no-nonsense stage manager swooped in. “What are you doing here? Backstage is off-limits. Out!”

“I’m Keira Kay from OceanixCorp,” I said, calm but firm. “I’m here to check on the models.”

That shut him up fast. Perks of being the one signing the checks.

“They’re about to go on, so make it quick,” he huffed, stepping aside. Lena took that as the cue to wheel me closer, practically buzzing with excitement.

Chapter 675

The male models immediately straightened when they noticed us. I scanned the lineup, trying to stay professional, until—

“Hayden?!” Lena blurted when her eyes landed on one of them.

“His name’s Xander.” My gaze stayed locked on the guy with Hayden’s face, my pulse hammering.

Lena shook her head. “If that’s not Hayden, I’ve officially seen a ghost. They’re identical.”

I couldn’t disagree. I felt the same way.

“But he says he’s not. If you don’t believe me, go ask him yourself,” I said, hoping Lena might figure out what I couldn’t.

Without hesitation, she let go of the wheelchair and stomped right up to Xander. “Hayden, did you really change your name and start a whole new life?”

“Miss, my name is Xander. I don’t know this Hayden you’re talking about.” His tone was smooth, steady.

Lena whipped around, her jaw dropping—totally thrown off by his voice. It wasn’t Hayden’s. Not even close.

“Hayden, don’t think you can fool me with some fancy voice trick!” Lena shot back, reaching toward his Adam’s apple like she was about to test for some kind of hidden tech.

Xander dodged her hand effortlessly. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it. No touching.”