Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Chapter 560

"Hernan!" Hayden's voice came through, cold and menacing.

Weirdly enough, hearing him made me feel... safe? I wanted to yell, 'Get me out of here!' but I forced myself to stay calm. The more freaked out I looked, the more power Hernan would have.

Hernan just laughed, setting the phone up on a stand before grabbing his wine like this was some kind of twisted Face Time hangout. "Your girl's quite the catch so beautiful, so charming. Real nice." "She's not my girl anymore," Hayden shot back.

Ouch. I knew it was true, but hearing him say it like that still hurt.

"Oh, not anymore?" Hernan clicked his tongue, fake disappointment all over his face. "Looks like I need to update my sources."

"If you're done, I'm hanging up," Hayden replied, and his indifference was like a punch to the gut.

It's not like I expected him to come to my rescue, but... he didn't even sound worried. Here I was, thinking I was some kind of pawn in this twisted game, but apparently, that was just me holding onto some delusional, leftover feelings. "Wait," Hernan said, then suddenly yanked me close, throwing me off balance.

The next thing I knew, the sharp scent of his body wash filled my nose, and I was in his arms, facing Hayden on the screen.

single gold pin on the collar, sharp and dignified like always. His gaze drilled into me through the screen, intense

like I was just... some random person in the wrong

my face, "since this girl has nothing to do with you, I think I'll keep

but his grip tightened around my neck, holding me in place. He didn't actually kiss me, but the closeness-the way he lingered right there-felt like a snake hissing.

would crack, would show even the slightest reaction. And, yeah...

then Hayden's voice came through. "What you

had he said that than the screen shifted, and suddenly he was gone. In his place, a smooth, feminine voice came from off-screen. "Hayden, you promised to spend the day with

It was Yara Drago.

seen photos of her before-absolutely stunning,

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Chapter 560

everywhere! She had this magnetic presence that

else, maybe I could've told myself Hayden was just doing his family duty with the engagement. But Yara was someone that even I found captivating. And if I felt that way... how could Hayden not? "Apologies, but my fiancé has promised me his time today," she said smoothly. "If you need him, maybe you should