Chapter 691
I didn’t answer him directly. Instead, I asked, “Jace, how did you know I almost got hit by a car?”
Hearing I wasn’t hurt, he let go of my arm and leaned against the doorframe. “Of course I know,” he said, letting out a bitter laugh, “because I had someone secretly protecting you.”
Protecting me? Translation: he’d been having me followed.
The realization lit a fire in me. My chest tightened with anger, and a cold laugh slipped out before I could stop it. “Wow. Your people are top-tier, huh? I almost got hit by a car, and nobody swooped in to save the day.”
“You’re right,” Jace admitted. “I’ve already fired him.” His eyes flicked back to mine. “I’ve also got someone looking into who hit you.”
At least that saved me the trouble. “Let me know when you find out,” I said bluntly.
He didn’t answer, just leaned there, looking drained. He might’ve been fine loitering, but I wasn’t. Especially since Xander was still inside my apartment.
“Jace, it’s late. You should go home,” I said, making it clear I wanted him to leave.
“I don’t want to go back,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Rea, ever since we broke up, I haven’t been able to go home. I don’t even want to.”
He gave me a sad smile. “When I go back, you’re not there. My parents barely talk anymore. The whole house feels dead—like all the warmth and noise disappeared the second you left.”
And whose fault is that?
“I never realized how good it was… a family laughing together,” he continued, shaking his head. “But now, it’s gone. Forever.”
People always say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, but only those who’ve been through it really get how much it stings.
“Why did it have to turn out like this? I don’t want this,” Jace said, his voice raw and desperate. “Rea, I wish I could turn back time. Or be reborn, even, if it meant fixing things.”
I almost laughed. His words sounded straight out of some cheesy TV drama. Sure, time travel and second chances are cute in fiction, but in real life? Not a thing.
“Jace, life doesn’t work like that,” I said evenly. “Time doesn’t rewind, and you don’t get a do-over. You have to focus on living in the present.”
“The present?” His gaze locked onto mine. “Without you in it, it feels like every day drags on forever.”
Once, I’d convinced myself Jace never really loved me. But now? I realized maybe he had—he just didn’t know how to show it. And that failure? It was tearing him apart.
Karma, I guess. But even if he’d finally figured out how he felt, it didn’t matter. I didn’t love him anymore.
“Then endure it,” I said simply. “Once you push through the pain, it won’t hurt as much.”
I saw it—the flash of anger in his eyes. It wasn’t rage directed at me. It was the kind of anger that comes from being helpless, from wanting something that’s out of reach. From realizing the door you want to walk through has already closed.
I knew him too well to let it escalate. Before he could spiral, I said, “Go home, Jace. I’m going to bed.”
I reached for the door, ready to shut it, but his hand shot out, stopping me.
“How can you be so cold? Why are you still punishing me, even when I’m like this?”
“Jace, you’re overthinking it. I’m not punishing you. I just don’t love you anymore. No matter what you do, that won’t change.”
He shook his head, his grip tightening on my arm. “Rea, no—it’s not like that. You love me, you—”
Just then, a deep male voice called from my bedroom, “Honey, where did you put my underwear?”
Jace froze, his eyes wide with shock. “Rea, who—”
I didn’t bother explaining. This might actually make things easier.
“Jace,” I said firmly, cutting him off, “whoever’s in my bedroom now, it’ll never be you again.” I yanked my arm free from his grip.
For a second, he just stood there, swaying. I stepped back instinctively, and then—
He coughed, hard. A second later, a bright red streak of blood spilled from his mouth.