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,

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

how much he loved you, risking his life and all that. And two,

it? Playing the victim to mess with me? That's why you didn't help him-you wanted to

tilted my head, trying to read his expression, but his face stayed calm as ever. Out of the corner

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+25 BONUS

let the pretty nurses handle that," I teased, gesturing to his bandages."

unflinching. "I didn't want

1 froze, blinking.

just rizzed

his arm lightly. "Be serious.

he did was

about me. It was about control, ambition, and power. I was just the excuse

sitting right in front of me. But the memory of that moment, when Hayden had stood there, cold

me and still act so indifferent, like it didn't matter if