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

Chapter 802

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Jace's hand fell to his side, his phone slipping onto the floor. His whole body seemed to collapse under invisible weight. His voice cracked. "Mom said... Dad... he's gone." Wayne didn't react, like he'd already seen this coming.

They stood there in tense silence before Wayne nuttered, "Let's go."

***

Jace called while I was half-asleep. My dreams had been all over the place, and the phone's ringing yanked me out of that foggy mess. I groaned, fumbling for it. "Hello?" "Rea..." Jace's voice wavered, then broke.

"What is it?" I mumbled, still groggy.

"My dad... He's gone."

His voice was barely a whisper, yet it snapped me awake. My heart thudded as his words sank in.

Matthew Johnston. The man who took my parents from me-but also the man who treated me like his own daughter. I hated him, but I couldn't hate him completely.

why I'd been dodging my promise to Lindey to visit the Johnston house. And now? He

I could hear Jace quietly crying. "I... I don't have a father anymore,"

anyone who hasn't felt it. I had. Losing my parents left a wound that's never

with words, and I had nothing to give him. All I could do was

voice evened out, I

he said, his

I wasn't even sure I could get out of bed, let alone show up. All I could manage

"Rea, will you come?"

know how to answer. I stayed silent, the same question swirling in

could I really go?

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Chapter 802

train. "Mom told me that in his last moments, when he could barely speak, he

I tilted my head back,

say anything else-just hung

***

to check on me after I told her I needed to leave. She ran a few tests, poking and prodding, before giving me a once-over with her usual doctor glare. "You're not bleeding anymore, and everything looks stable. But no