Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 20

Before I even finished talking. Cecilia across from me suddenly stood up, staring past me, and stuttered. “Hogan.”

Her eyes were getting even redder as she spoke.

Hogan quickly moved to Cecilia’s side in just a couple of strides, shielding her with his body. and demanded, “What the heck have you two said to her?”

He said “you two.”

That included me too.

When Hogan spoke, a vein on his forehead was throbbing.

He was clearly peeved.

For someone as usually cool as a cucumber like him, this was a rare loss of control, especially with Hilary standing right there.

In my memory, those two, mother and son, had never had a heated argument.

But now, for Cecilia’s sake, even his tone with Hilary had an edge to it.

Hilary seemed blindsided by how things had escalated, pointing at Hogan and saying, “I’m doing this for you, don’t you know that?”

After saying that, she stormed out with tears in her eyes.

Just as I was about to follow, I heard Hogan say, “In a rush to brown–nose?”

my tracks, torn between laughter

was when Cecilia, standing off to the side, spoke up, “Hogan, you’ve got

a skeptical

was my bad for getting my hands dirty

I said, “I’m

Hogan give

a smile, “Nah, it’s out of

more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. After this afternoon’s drama, I figured my cover as the ‘ex‘

how Hogan dotes on Cecilia, I had this

hope Wallis

Chapter 20

of a notification snapped me out of my

lo and

those tempting digits, my lips

call him nuts, or commend him for knowing

caught my eye.

words, no emotion to be read.

accepted the money without a second thought, pondering whether I’d stumbled upon a new money–making

Hogan was the finance whiz–kid with a Midas touch. He’d

putled up my friends list and hit

at my phone balance, I felt a wave of

and asked, “Xaviera, what time are you heading out the

clueless. “Heading out where?”

said, then realizing something was off, he added in

normal since we weren’t that