Chapter 6
Jaime showed up while I was having breakfast.
“Gracie, did you really throw out all the gifts I gave you? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” His voice was hoarse and raw.
I didn’t say a word, I just turned and headed back to my room.
Jaime’s pupils tightened with shock.
“Wait…” He blocked my way, looking desperate. “Gracie, can we just talk.
for a minute?”
I let out a cold laugh. “No need. I’m afraid you’ll throw another cup of coffee in my face.”
He jerked his hand back as if he’d been burned.
“Gracie…” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. Suddenly, he reached out, trying to pull me into a hug. “I just lost control for a second. Can you forgive me? I swear it’ll never happen again…”
“There won’t be a next time, Jaime.” I shook off his hand. “Thanks to you, I’m now the laughingstock of the whole company. So, really, thank you for that.”
Jaime’s breath caught in his throat.
He’d probably never seen me like this before.
In the past, if he so much as frowned, I’d rush to smooth things over.
Chapter 6
But now, I was like a block of ice–cold, unmoving, not even my eyelashes trembled.
“I was just angry…” Jaime reached out, wanting to touch my face. “Gracie, I was wrong. If you want, I’ll let you throw a cup of coffee at me—would that make it right?”
Smack!
I slapped his hand away, the sound sharp and clear. “Jaime, enough already. Did you forget we broke up?”
His jaw clenched tightly.
I fixed him with a chilly stare. “If you need a reminder, let me spell it out -there’s nothing between us anymore. Please, stay away from me.”
“I don’t accept that.” He stepped closer, trying to grab my hand. “Gracie, as long as I don’t agree, we’re not broken up-”
I stared at him, expressionless. “Jaime, don’t do this. Don’t make me lose all my respect for you.”
“Gracie!” He suddenly pressed his shoulder against the door, his voice trembling with a panic I’d never heard before. “You’re really going to break up with me over a cup of coffee? Is it really worth that?”
“It is.”
Jaime’s eyes locked onto mine, his expression shifting from guilt to anger and confusion.
“I don’t accept this! It was just a cup of coffee. You’re really going to end things over something so small? Don’t you think you’re being
unreasonable?”
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Chapter 6
“But Jaime, to me, this isn’t something small.”
His eyes reddened. “You really want to break up?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice steady and sure.
Jaime’s eyes filled with tears, and he forced out each word. “Fine. Break
up with me then, Gracie. I hope you won’t regret this.”
I looked one last time at the man who’d grown up with me.
“I won’t, Jaime. I’ll never regret it.”
