I froze for a second, wanting to pull away from Wayne’s grip, but his grip was too tight, not giving


    me a chance to break free.


    The whole vibe of being controlled by someone else totally freaked me out, and I hated it. I


    scrunched up my face. “Wayne-”


    Before I could even get the words out, Wayne cut me off. “Rea, Jace is my brother. I can’t talk bad


    about him, but he’s different. You can’t just throw away your principles because of him.”


    His grip tightened even more, and I could feel the tension radiating off him. His hands shook


    slightly, and the way he looked at me was intense, his eyes dark and serious, his voice almost


    desperate. “Dating isn’t some game. One wrong move could mess everything up.”


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Seeing how serious he was, I started to feel a little bad for him. I almost thought about telling him


    that Hayden was just a temporary thing.


    But that thought disappeared as fast as it came. I brought Hayden into this mess to shut down any


    lingering hopes they had, and if I told Wayne the truth, what would be the point?


    “I’m not a kid anymore, Wayne. I know what I’m doing,” I shot back.


    “But you’ve only known Hayden for a few days!” Wayne’s voice got louder, like he was starting to


    lose it.


    Seeing the disbelief in his eyes, I decided to drop a bombshell. “It’s true I’ve only worked with him


    for a few days, but our thing started way before, back when I was in Chiverton.”


    I kept my words vague, thinking of Wayne like an older brother. Some things were better left


    unsaid.


    But Wayne wasn’t clueless. He got it right away, his eye’s going wide in shock as he stared at me.


    His grip on my shoulder tightened, like he might actually leave a bruise.


    He didn’t say another word, just kept looking at me with this mix of disbelief, disappointment, and a


    deep, raw hurt…


    I met his gaze, fully understanding just how much he was feeling, then shifted a little. “Wayne, some


    things are just out of our control. Maybe Hayden and I are meant to be.”


    As soon as I said it, I felt Wayne’s body sway slightly.


    But even then, his hands stayed on my shoulders, though not as tightly as before,


    Just as we were stuck in this awkward standoff, Ron popped up out of nowhere, grinning like he


    had no idea what was going on. “Ms. Kay, you’ve got a guest! Why don’t you bring him to the


    office?”


    He nced at Wayne as he spoke. “Come on, I’ll have someone bring some tea.”


    Wayne pulled himself together quickly. He let go of me and nodded at Ron. “No need, thanks.”


    Without even looking back at me, Wayne walked away. The sense of loss he left behind was


    suffocating.


    Jstood there, kinda dazed, for what felt like forever before finally heading back to my office. As I


    passed by Ron’s office, I decided to ask for the afternoon off. I needed to pick out a gift and then


    head over to the Johnston residence.


    But just as I was about to knock, I overheard Ron talking on the phone. “Bro, it’s done… Yeah, he’s


    outta here… Haha, don’t worry, you’re way ahead of him. He couldn’t catch up even if he tried… M–


    Ms. Kay-”


    Ron suddenly walked out of his office mid–call and almost crashed right into me. He was so


    startled, he nearly dropped his phone.


    I had no idea why he looked so freaked out. I quickly caught his phone before it hit the floor and


    noticed that the call was with someone saved as “Bro“.


    I handed the phone back to Ron, who looked like he’d just seen a ghost, and motioned to him that


    the call was still connected.


    Ron fumbled with the phone, pressing it back to his ear, “Bro, I’ll call you backter. Ms. Kay’s here


    to see me,” he stammered before hanging up, his eyes full of obvious panic.


    All this over a phone call?


    And it wasn’t even with some secret lover or a sketchy business deal. Even if I overheard


    something, why was he so rattled?