Chapter 829

Yara was looking after me like I was her little sister or something, and honestly, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

“What’s wrong?” she teased when I hesitated with the glass of milk. “Worried I poisoned it? Want me to take the first sip?”

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t deny that Yara was genuinely kind. She’d nearly been engaged to Hayden, yet she’d never acted jealous or petty toward me.

Honestly, it didn’t make sense. She must’ve had feelings for him—she’d even admitted to admiring him. And here she was, treating me like we were besties.

I just couldn’t figure her out.

“It’s not that,” I said, taking the milk. “I just feel bad for making you go out of your way.”

But Hayden’s words were ringing in my head: (Give the ring to someone you trust most and have them hand it over to the police.)

Could I trust Yara?

Her lips quirked into a smile. “Just fulfilling a request.”

I froze. A request? From Hayden?

“Alright,” she said, stretching the word in a teasing tone, “I’ll leave you to get back to sleeeep.”

I sighed. “Enough with the guessing games.”

She chuckled and left, leaving me alone with my racing thoughts. The second the door shut, I grabbed my phone, trying to reconnect to Hayden’s signal. Nothing. It was gone, just like I’d feared.

I knew Hayden was playing it smart—keeping contact brief for both our safety—but it didn’t make me feel any less helpless.

And then there was the question: Who could I trust with the ring?

Lena would’ve been my first pick, but she was out of reach. My eyes flicked to the glass of milk in my hand. Could I trust Yara?

The thought was risky. She was part of the Drago family, Cole’s aunt no less. Hayden’s message had clearly said the data was important, probably incriminating for the Dragos. What if Yara acted out of self-interest and buried it instead of handing it to the cops?

I sighed. She wasn’t my best option.

Chapter 129

But who else?

I was stuck here, and Cole wasn’t about to let me waltz out to hand it off to someone.

That left Jace.

If Jace had managed to come once, he could come back. His recent actions, and the ten years I’d known him, told me one thing—I could trust him. So, I decided to take the chance and put my faith in him.

But getting him involved without tipping off Cole? Yeah, that was going to take some creativity.

The next morning, Yara was in the kitchen, apron on, whipping up another amazing breakfast. Watching her bustle around, I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Yara,” I said, “Are you this eager to play house, or are you just so bored you decided to cook yourself?”

Cole might’ve been holding us here, but it wasn’t exactly prison. There were maids who’d make whatever we wanted.

“Both,” she replied, sitting down gracefully with her own plate. “Plus, I enjoy it. Life’s about the little things. Cooking is an art. Turning simple ingredients into something beautiful? It’s therapeutic.”

Sure, if that worked for her, who was I to argue? But honestly, I didn’t get it.

“Okay, Martha Stewart,” I muttered with zero shame, stabbing my food. “Too bad I don’t like anything you’ve made.”

Her cooking was amazing, but I needed an excuse to bring up Jace.

Yara didn’t even blink. “Fine. Tell me what you do like, and I’ll make it for you. I am the older one here, after all.”

I wasn’t even sure which of us was older, but she’d already taken on the whole big sister act.

“You couldn’t make it even if you tried,” I said, feigning disinterest.

“Oh, let me guess it’s something from your childhood, right? The kind of food only your parents could make?” she asked, grinning.

“My parents aren’t around anymore,” I said.

I squeezed out a couple of tears for dramatic effect, and boy, did it work.

“Oh no!” Yara gasped. “I didn’t mean it like that. Don’t cry! Please, stop crying!”

Chapter 830