Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

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.

pulled

events of

soon as I moved into Wayne's villa. The danger seemed aimed at me, but somehow, Hayden and the

a trap for Hayden. That's why, during the kidnapping, I'd been the only one to walk

no reason to stop Wayne. The easiest way to keep you apart was

pit served two purposes for Jace: one, to 'prove' how much he loved you,

connecting the dots. "So you thought Jace was faking it? Playing the victim to mess with me? That's why you didn't

face stayed calm as ever. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw

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let the pretty nurses handle that," I teased, gesturing to his bandages." Pretty sure they'd do

eyes locked on mine, unflinching. "I didn't want

1 froze, blinking.

man just rizzed

arm lightly. "Be serious. What

expression softened. "Everything he

should've made me feel special, but I wasn't delusional. This wasn't just about me. It was about control, ambition, and power.

right in front of me. But the memory of that moment,