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?”

stopped dead in my tracks, torn between

standing off to the side, spoke up, “Hogan, you’ve got it all wrong, it’s not Xaviera’s fault, I accidentally

gave me a skeptical

getting my hands dirty in this

while, I said, “I’m heading

Hogan give you a lift.”

“Nah, it’s

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

by how Hogan dotes on Cecilia, I had this nagging feeling that something bad

Wallis

Chapter 20

snapped me out of my

it and, lo and behold, another

tempting digits, my lips twitching stiffly.

him nuts, or commend him for knowing the score?

caught my eye. [Tough

emotion to be

my jaw and accepted the money without a second thought, pondering whether I’d stumbled upon a new

finance whiz–kid with a Midas touch. He’d never let me get the upper hand for

a moment’s thought. I putled up my friends list and hit

balance, I felt

asked, “Xaviera, what time are you heading

clueless. “Heading

something was off,

it, which was normal since