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

Chapter

723

"You said you'd been suspicious of Wayne for a while. What about Jace? You were working with him, but when he was surrounded by crocodiles, you just... stood there. Why?" I finally asked, a question that had haunted me for ages. Even though Jace and I had ended things, that moment stuck in my head, like a bad movie scene I couldn't skip. I'd even dreamt about it.

I'd asked Jace once, but his answer didn't feel real. Hayden's answer? That's the one I needed.

"Testing him," Hayden said, cool and straight to the point.

"Testing him? He's Wayne's brother."

"He is," Hayden said, not budging. "But not entirely. There were... other reasons.

"Like what?" I pressed, trying to stay patient.

I was sitting sideways, avoiding his bandaged arm. His face was out of view, but his voice stayed steady.

"Because everything pointed too perfectly at Wayne, like it was staged," he explained.

His words pulled me back to

of that

The danger seemed aimed at me, but somehow, Hayden and the rest ended

The setup wasn't about me at all-I was just bait in a trap for Hayden. That's why, during the kidnapping, I'd been the only one

knew that. But since you and Jace were done, he had no reason to stop Wayne. The easiest way to keep you

for Jace: one, to 'prove' how much he loved you, risking his life and

raised a brow, connecting the dots. "So you thought Jace was faking it? Playing the victim to mess with me? That's why you didn't help him-you wanted to see how

his expression, but his face stayed calm as ever. Out of the corner of

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should've let the pretty nurses handle that," I teased, gesturing to his bandages." Pretty sure they'd

unflinching. "I didn't

1 froze, blinking.

man just rizzed

"Be serious.

he did was for

was about control, ambition, and power. I was just the excuse they used to fight their

the memory of that moment, when Hayden had stood there, cold and

could you do it, Hayden? How could you love me and still