Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right by Rosie Steppe

Chapter 646

Demi's call came in while I was in the bathroom, wiping Ron's splash attack off my face.

"Keira." Her voice was flat, almost hollow-so unlike the Demi I used to know. She used to talk like every sentence was lit with fireworks, sharp and alive. Now? That fire was gone.

I didn't know every detail of what happened, but her suicide attempt had left a mark. She wasn't the same, and it broke my heart to hear it.

"If you didn't call me soon, I was about to come hunt you down myself," I said, trying to inject some levity into my tone.

"Don't come. I'm fine," she cut in, her tone shaky.

I tossed the crumpled paper towel in the trash and leaned against the sink. "Fine? Sure, because that sounded convincing. Spill, Demi What's going on?"

She went quiet for so long I thought the call dropped. Then, finally, her voice cracked through the silence. "I have nothing left. Nothing And now I'm stuck with almost $500,000 in debt."

Wayne had mentioned her boyfriend before, so the pieces clicked fast-she'd been played. Scammed by someone she trusted.

I gritted my teeth. "And your grand solution was to kill yourself? Is that what your life is worth-half a million

• dollars?"

said, her voice shaking "It's payday loans... and loan sharks. When I couldn't pay, they started harassing me, calling nonstop Now they're threatening my parents." Guilt hit me like a gut punch. "Why didn't you call

my phone back then. Maybe she had tried to reach

there to loan her the money, maybe she wouldn't have tried to end her life. But it was too late for "what

I asked, "So,

I wasn't buying it. Lindale? With no connections and only a high school diploma? She wasn't finding some magical high-paying

a month-which was a stretch-that was barely $36,000 to $48,000 a year. Half a million in debt? That'd take her ten years. And that's if she didn't spend a dime on herself. That kind of endless grind would break her long before she ever made a dent

the stress of

said, the words tumbling out before I could overthink it. "Work for me. I'll pay you $500,000 upfront as an advance on your salary." As soon as I said it, I realized this

the people you

answer hit me like

Why? I

is nothing to you, but I borrowed that money," she said, her voice shaking "I can't just take yours to pay it off. And

snapped, frustration bubbling over. I'm not asking for repayment, Demi! There's no deadline,

anything stupid again. Isn't that

but

What a stubborn girl.