My heart skipped a beat. “What happened?”


    Jace’s face darkened. “He got into a fight.”


    A fight overseas, right before a majorpetition? That didn’t sound like Steve. “Did he ask you to


    come?


    Jace hesitated. “He’s been detained.”


    I blinked, stunned. “That serious?”


    “Yeah, and if things don’t go well, he could be facing long–term imprisonment.” His words knocked


    the wind out of me for a second.


    Seeing the worry on my face, Jace added, “I don’t know all the details yet. One of his teammates


    called. I’m heading over to figure things out.”


    I nodded slightly. “Let me know if anything-”


    “Do you want toe with me?” Jace cut in, eyes locked on mine.


    I wasn’t expecting that. My mouth opened, but before I could answer, Jace continued, “His


    teammate said Steve’s not doing well. He’s been really agitated. If you’re there, maybe you could


    calm him down.”


    Steve wasn’t just a friend–he was family. Someone who’d always had my back. Now he was in


    trouble, far/ from home, and of course I wanted to help.


    But going with Jace? That was a different story. I didn’t want to do anything that could upset


    Hayden. There was a time when Jace didn’t care about my feelings and hurt me by being with


    someone else. I couldn’t do the same to Hayden.


    “You go ahead. I’lleter, after I pack,” I said, turning down Jace’s offer.


    “You can buy whatever you need when we get there,” he replied, clearly missing the point.


    I’d mentioned packing as a polite excuse, hoping he’d take the hint. But instead, he pushed, making


    it obvious he wanted us to travel together.


    I couldn’t do that.


    I was about to respond when Jace suddenly pulled out a red booklet from his bag. “I brought your


    passport.”


    1 had totally forgotten about that. Before we broke up, Jace and I had taken a trip abroad, and my


    passport ended up in his bag. When things fell apart, I took everything else, but the passport


    slipped my mind.


    I reached out to take it, but he didn’t let go right away.


    We stood there, locked in a tense silence, until Jace finally spoke, his voice low. “So, we can’t even


    go on a trip together anymore?”


    I looked down, then back up at him with a soft smile. “It’s not that I can’t–it’s that I don’t want


    Hayden to


    overthink things. As his girlfriend, it’s my responsibility to make sure he feels secure.”


    My words hit him hard, and after a moment, he let go of the passport, his smile bitter. “You really


    care about him, huh?”


    Obviously.


    Jace’s expression soured even more. “Funny, when we were together, you never cared this much


    about me.”


    Was this his way of dredging up old grudges?


    “Did I?” I asked, giving him a half–smile.


    Jace’s eyes darkened. “Rea, you always thought I didn’t care about you. But how much did you


    really care about me?”


    That came out of nowhere.


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    When didn’t I care about him?


    Was this about Steve?


    Was there something between Steve and me that bothered him back then?


    I didn’t ask. There was no point. We’d gone our separate ways, and digging up the past wouldn’t


    change anything.


    “I’ll pack and head over soon. We’ll be in touch,” I said, ending the conversation and walking away


    with my passport.


    Hayden had told me to take some time off, but I still decided to swing by the office.


    When I knocked on his door, he was deep in work, not even looking up as he said, “Come in.”


    I stood there for a moment, just watching him work. He waspletely absorbed, totally lost in


    whatever he was doing. If anyone wanted to know what “focused” looked like, they only had to see


    Hayden in action.


    Eventually, he reached for something on his desk, just out of his reach. I stepped forward and


    handed it to him.


    “Thanks,” he said, then paused, sensing something was off. He finally looked up.