Chapter 682

I muttered a half-hearted reply and headed for the meeting room without bothering to ask who was waiting.

“Wait up,” Ron called after me. “That model from yesterday—he’s seriously not Hayden.”

“I know,” I said, biting the edge of my coffee cup. “I buried him myself.”

Ron just nodded and let me go. That’s when I saw who was waiting inside. Jace. His eyes fixed on me like he was trying to read my mind.

Too bad for him, I was in a great mood today. For the first time in weeks, I’d actually put on makeup. Heck, I’d even looked in the mirror before leaving and thought, ‘Dang, I look good.’ Even the pain in my injured leg decided to chill out. Walking didn’t hurt for once.

“You’re late,” Jace broke the silence as he checked me out, his tone super casual.

“Yeah, but my boss is cool. No pay docking here,” I shot back. His face froze for a second. Back at Riverwave Corp, being late meant fines, CEO’s fiancée or not.

“I called yesterday, but you didn’t answer. I even swung by your place, but the lights were off. I was worried,” he said, his voice all concerned.

“I just went home and crashed,” I replied, keeping it dry.

Jace’s lips twitched. “I thought you’d be losing sleep.”

“What for? Xander?” I asked bluntly. We both knew that’s why he was here.

“He’s not Hayden,” Jace said, pulling out his phone. A second later, mine buzzed in my pocket. “I had him looked into overnight. It’s all there.” He paused briefly, then added, “Hayden’s gone, Rea. You saw it happen.”

My grip tightened on the coffee cup. “I know Hayden’s gone. I’m not mistaking Xander for him.”

Jace relaxed a little—until I added, “Xander is Xander.”

His eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I sipped my coffee, leaving him hanging.

The vein in his temple popped. “Rea, stop. Hayden’s gone. You loved him, not just his face.”

“I mean, his face definitely didn’t hurt,” I said with a small laugh.

Jace looked stunned, like I’d slapped him.

“Ever heard of ‘things trigger memories of people’?” I asked. “Now imagine someone who looks exactly like him showing up in front of me. What do you think that feels like?”

“So what? You’re going to treat Xander like he’s Hayden? Use him as a stand-in to fill some void?” Guess he was angry, because his voice shook.

“Stand-in?” I shook my head. “I’m not that heartless.”

“Then what are you saying?” Jace snapped, completely losing his cool.

I set my coffee down. “Whatever I mean, it’s not your business anymore, is it?”

His face was dark with frustration. “Rea…”

“Jace, we agreed a long time ago to stay out of each other’s lives. You don’t get to stand here and question me.” My voice came out colder than I’d expected.

Yesterday, I told Lena to stop messing with Jace. Funny thing was, I couldn’t even fully let go myself.

His face drained of color, and he dropped his gaze. “I know I don’t have the right anymore. I just… I don’t want to watch you spiral into the same pain again.”

For a second, he hesitated, then reached for my hand. His throat bobbed as he struggled to find the words. “I messed up. You gave me exactly what I deserved—probably worse. But now…” He exhaled shakily. “I’m asking you for one more chance. Pretend I’m someone new. Someone you’re just meeting for the first time.”

His meaning was crystal clear. He wanted a do-over.