As I was paying for my purchase, my phone buzzed. It was Hayden calling me back,
“Sorry, I was busy earlier and just saw your message,” he exined.
“Yeah, I figured. Are you free now?” I asked.
“What time?” Hayden replied.
I paused, thinking it over. If we went at six, we’d show up right in the middle of dinner, and Matthew
and Lindey would definitely invite us to stay. I wouldn’t mind, but Hayden might feel weird about it.
“Seven–thirty,” I finally said. By then, the Johnston family would be done with dinner, and it’d be
less
awkward.
“Alright, I’lle pick you up at seven. Sound good? Hayden offered.
I couldn’t help butugh. “How are you nning to pick me up? Ride a shared bike?”
It was meant as a joke, but when Hayden didn’t respond right away, I realized maybe it didn’tnd
the way I thought.
This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.
“Wait, I didn’t mean anything by that,” I quickly said, trying to backtrack. “I’lle pick you up
instead.”
“I’ll be home half an hour early. We can leave together, Hayden replied, then paused before asking,
“Do I need to bring any gifts?”
“No, I’ve already taken care of that,” I said, then hung up. When I looked up, I caught Tanya staring
at me. No matter how much time passed, I could always sense that mix of envy–and maybe even
jealousy- whenever her eyesnded on me.
There was nothing left to say, so I grabbed my things and headed out.
Instead of going straight home, I stopped by a men’s clothing store. Since I was bringing Hayden
with me tonight, I couldn’t have him show up in his usual everyday clothes.
I wasn’t sure if he had anything suitable to wear, but considering I was already dragging him into
this whole charade, buying him a nice outfit felt like the least I could do.
By six, I scarfed down a quick dinner and then settled in to wait for Hayden to get home.
But instead of him, my phone lit up with a call from Demi. “Keira, do you have time tonight? I really
wanna catch up.”
1 kinda didn’t
“What’s up? We can talk now if it’s quick. I’m headed over to the Johnstons‘ter,” I said, being
upfront.
“Oh, seriously? That sucks,” Demi sighed, sounding bummed.
I took a bite of the apple sitting in front of me. “I’ll take you out for dinner another time, promise.”
“I don’t care about dinner,” she groaned. “I’ve been losing it thest few days. I didn’t want to bug
you, but if I don’t vent, I’m gonna explode.”
I frowned “What happened? [
Did Mr. Hart pull something again?”
“No, it’s not him–it’s that bitch, Tanya,” Demi hissed, and I froze mid–bite.
I’d already bumped into Tanya earlier today, and now her name was popping up again. Seemed like
she was determined to ruin my day.
“What did she do this time?” I asked casually.
And that’s when Demi started going off, talking a mile a minute like she’d been holding it in forever.”
Tanya’s acting like she’s some kind of queen because she’s pregnant.
“You’d think she needs a pnquin or something, scared to take a single step like the ground’s
gonna break under her.
“If she’s that fragile, why not just stay in bed? Problem solved!”
I let out a smallugh. “Gotta earn that baby form money somehow.”
“Please, she’s just showing off! Making a huge deal out of nothing, trying to convince everyone
she’s carrying Mr. Johnston’s future heir,” Demi’s rant made my apple taste a little less sweet.
“It’s possible,” I said, ying it cool.
“Wait, you’re serious?” Demi’s voice practically jumped through the phone. “If she’s really carrying
his kid, that means Mr. Johnston’s been cheating on you this whole time. What aplete
dirtbag!”
I couldn’t even swallow the bite of apple in my mouth, I put it down, staying quiet.
“Keira,e on. I don’t think that’s actually happening. Demi went on, sounding uncertain now. “If
she was really pregnant with Mr. Johnston’s baby, she’d be livingrge by now. But every time she
sees you, she acts like she’s walking on eggshells, all nervous and fake polite.”
I had to give it to Demi–she somehow managed to roast Tanya and drag me into it at the same
time.