Chapter 3
Lennox skipped going home and drove straight to her apartment downtown.
By the time she collapsed into bed, it was past midnight.
Hayes hadn’t called. Not once.
No “are you okay?” No explanation. Nothing.
She stared at her phone until her eyes burned, then finally threw it aside and crashed.
The next morning, she woke to voices and heavy footsteps. Stumbling out of her bedroom, she found Hayes directing a team of movers like he owned the place.
The second he spotted her, he rushed over with that familiar guilty smile.
“Hey babe, sorry about yesterday. Work emergency–had to bolt. Didn’t even realize there was an earthquake until later. You’re okay though, right?”
Lennox stared at him–this man who could lie straight to her face without missing a beat–and felt something twist in her chest.
He knew damn well he owed her an explanation for yesterday, yet he chose to cover up the fact that he’d abandoned her at the earthquake site with this pathetic lie.
Why? If he loved Raina so much, why keep up this charade?
Did he think she was that easy to fool?Or was he just addicted to having it all?
When she didn’t bite, Hayes sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I know you’re mad. So I brought reinforcements.” He nodded toward the boxes. “Tiffany’s finest. Call it my ‘I’m an asshole‘ tax. Okay?”
His phone lit up before she could answer. Whatever he saw made his jaw clench.
“Fuck. Crisis mode again.” He was already backing toward the door. “Can we do this later? I really gotta bounce.”
Gone before she could say a word.
The apartment fell quiet except for the movers shuffling around boxes of guilt gifts.
Her phone pinged. Social media notification.
Raina had posted a photo–expensive jewelry scattered across silk sheets, a man’s handjust visible in the corner. Lennox knew that signet ring. She had the matching set.
Same jewelry Hayes had just “bought” for her. Same hands that had just touched her face.
The air left her lungs in a rush.
This was Hayes’s version of love–a fucking timeshare.
“Ma’am? Everything’s unpacked. Want to check it out?”
The delivery guy’s voice snapped her back to reality.
She looked at the jewelry covering her coffee table and something cold settled in her chest.
15:16
A Billion–Dollar Goodbye: Too Late for Second Chances, Mr. Ex
1.6%
Chapter 3
“Sell it. All of it.”
His sloppy seconds? Hard pass.
Twenty minutes after they left,, Hayes started calling.
She let every call go to voicemail until he finally texted: [If the jewelry’s not your style, we’ll pick something else together.]
Lennox deleted it and scrolled to her best friend instead. If she was bailing on this city, Suri deserved a goodbye.
That evening, she met Suri at their usual bar. When Lennox mentioned leaving the country, Suri nearly choked on her martini.
“You’re what? What about Hayes?”
A few drinks in, Lennox’s words came out flat and emotionless: “I’m calling off the engagement.”
“Are you insane?” Suri shot up in her seat.
“That’s Hayes Kingston! The man’s obsessed with you-”
“No.” Lennox’s voice was hoarse. “He doesn’t. And I’m not crazy.”
The image flashed again–Hayes with that little boy, Raina curled against his side like she belonged there. The memory hit like a physical blow.
She was done being anyone’s second choice.
Suri looked ready to stage an intervention, but Lennox stood up. “Bathroom break. Back in five.”
Walking past the VIP section, a familiar voice stopped her cold.
Through the cracked door, she could see Hayes lounging in the shadows, features barely visible in the low light.
But the woman that was wearing a white dress pressed against his side was Raina!
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