NovelBookChapter 132
He could pay “sorry-about-your-twenties” money without blinking. The only reason | was still wearing the ring?
I'd given him a daughter.
Jared doesn’t burn bridges; it’s not in his wiring. Maybe that was what I'd gambled on in my previous life-his
residual decency. He's polished, charismatic, and as long as he isn’t cruel, I'd bet he wouldn’t divorce me.
| don’t hate him. | hate myself. Nothing murders love like indecision, and I'd turned hesitation into a goddamn
masterpiece. I'd dragged him-worse, I'd dragged myself. “Heavy” doesn’t scratch the surface.
| was the one who refused to let go of him or of the ghost I'd become. Every mistake traced back to my death-
grip on a fantasy. But no more. Tto set a new target: beca high-powered, over-educated force of
nature.
My careless shrug landed like a blade between his ribs. “Let the dice roll” meant “I don’t care. You can loveor
hate me, do whatever you want.”
Jared was sharp. He'd get the message. | knew he would.
Silence crashed down inside the car, thick as a Midwestern snowstorm. My pulse started tap-dancing against my
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtribs. Am | already wobbling off the path I just drew for myself?
Melissa's plan echoed in my head: reel him back in, milk the sympathy, then hit him with divorce papers at the
exact emotional peak and walk away loaded. Yet here | was, letting my mouth run in the opposite direction.
Would Jared actually sniff out my real agenda and just... calmly servepapers with a polite alimony check?
Fine. Earth keeps spinning without him.
Nathan's eyes from this morning flashed across my mind. A single girl's high-quality rebound shouldn't count as
fickle, right?
We pulled up to the restaurant. | figured Jared would bail onthe second the engine died. | swung the door
open, and a kid on a bike shot past.
Before | could flinch, a big hand snagged my waist and yankedbackward. “Watch it,” Jared snapped, voice
low against my
ear.
| blinked, realizing | was plastered against his chest. He looked down, scolding. “Daydreaming again?”
My heart kicked-not from the rescue, but because my brain had just fast-forwarded to Nathan, shirt half-
unbuttoned against a hotel headboard. Heat crawled up my neck.
Jared's gaze lingered on my flushed cheeks for two long seconds before he let go.
My outfit today was all business. In my previous life, I'd never dressed like this; I'd never held a real job, and
anything this polished felt like playing dress-up.
Turns out, when you've got the figure and the face, a power suit turns into armor-confidence tailor-made, and
yeah, men
stare.
Tracy's group rounded the corner. Her smile was set to “social,” but her eyes were ice. If Jared had shifted even
one degree off his usual orbit, Tracy would be the first to feel the tremor.
Before, she'd looked straight through me. Now | caught the first flicker of pure dislike-maybe even hate. Hate
me? Fine.
1/2
Chapter 132
Let’s give her something to really hate.
| took two steps and let my ankle roll. “Ow-“I hissed, catching the wall. My cheeks flamed; beads of sweat dotted
my forehead.
Jared, mid-handshake with sexecutives, snapped around at the sound. He closed the distance in three
strides. “What happened?”
“Twisted it,” | muttered, bending to inspect the damage.
His gaze dropped to the seven-inch stilettos, needle-thin. His jaw tightened. “Next time, skip the skyscrapers.”
“Honey, don’t worry about me,” | said, layering on the sugar. “Go on up. I'll be fine in a minute.”
Jared flicked a quick glance at the small crowd behind him. “Head on inside. We'll catch up.”
Tracy's eyes went wide-if looks could slap, I'd be tasting blood. Con, girl, | thought. We both know this song
and dance.
In the life I'd already lived, I'd sworn Jared was selectively blind: Tracy could bat her lashes and fake a fainting
spell, and he'd buy it wholesale. Now I'd tested the theory-turns out, he’s just as blind when I'm the one
performing.
“I'm carrying you upstairs,” Jared said. No vote, no debate. Before | could object, he bent and scoopedup like
| weighed less than his laptop.
2/2
Visit our social media platform to read fascinating stories every day and connect with the community!
