เข้าสู่ระบบTo my lovely readers. Thank you for riding with me up untill this point.If you followed Briella and Hayden's journey from the first page, then you already know that this wasn’t a story about perfect people.It was a story about people who chose each other despite the odds…People who learned that forgiveness can be an act of courage, that second chances require softness and real love arrives when we stop running.Thank you for walking every step with them.Thank you for holding your breath during their silences, for hoping with themand believing again and again that love was still possible.As you close this book, I hope you carry one truth with you:Healing doesn’t erase the past.It simply teaches the heart how to bloom again.And so, to everyone who has ever loved imperfectly. this story was for you.XoxoJessie Jane.
The following days were a rollercoasterHayden and Briella became inseparable, not in a desperate, clinging way, but in the calm certainty of two people who had finally stopped fighting what was inevitable. Mornings turned into evenings in each other's arms, their laughter settled where fear once lived, and for the first time in a while, Briella didn’t feel like love was something she had to guard herself against.Everything felt right.And this time, she wasn’t afraid.When Briella eventually returned to London, it wasn’t without hesitation or fear of something happening, this time the feeling was different.She stayed a little longer in California.long enough to make memories that would sustain her through the distance. After speaking to her grandma for hours, she was certain of what to do.And her grandma's words rang in her ears. “Love doesn’t wait forever.”The decision came easily after that.She would tie up loose ends in London.Then she would come home to California with her
When Hayden woke up, in that soft, disoriented way that came after a night he never wanted to forget. His first instinct was to reach, his hand found her waist, warm beneath the sheets, her body curled into his like she belonged there.He let himself breathe.She’s here.Her hair was a dark halo on his pillow, her breathing soft, steady. She looked peaceful. Too peaceful for someone who’d spent months running from him emotionally, too peaceful for someone whose life had been in danger just weeks ago.He brushed a thumb along her spine, slow and reverent.Last night had unraveled him. Not just the kiss, not just the way she had clung to him like she finally stopped fighting what they were but the way she let him see her fears, her hesitations, her heart. And the way she whispered his name.Briella shifted, her eyes fluttering open. When she saw him, her face softened.“Morning,” she murmured with a sleep voice.His chest tightened. “Morning, beautiful.”She hid her smile in the pillow,
Briella eased back into her seat, her lips still tingling from their kiss. Hayden sat across from her again, but everything between them had shifted, the air, the energy, the way he looked at her like she was the first breath he had taken all day.The waiter arrived with their food, but Hayden barely glanced at the plates; his eyes remained on her.“You’re staring too much,” Briella whispered, her cheeks still warm.“Good,” he murmured. “I’ve spent too long pretending I didn’t want to.”She couldn’t stop the smile pulling at her mouth.The food was exquisite, roasted salmon glazed with citrus, buttery mashed potatoes, and perfectly seasoned vegetables but the real flavor was the unspoken language between them. Every little gesture felt charged.When Briella reached for her water, Hayden’s finger brushed hers deliberately.When she laughed, he drew in closely like he was drawn in to her.When he spoke, his voice dipped lower than usual intimately, like everything he said was meant only
Hayden pulled out her chair, waited for her to sit, then lowered himself into the seat opposite her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The soft music, the dim lights, the faint scent of something warm and sweet in the air, everything felt too intimate but desperate.But maybe that was the point.Hayden watched her with a mixture of nervousness but he was certain. It was a strange combination for him. Hayden Linford was never unsure. He commanded boards, investors, and entire rooms. Yet here, in front of her, he looked like a man wrestling with words he couldn’t afford to get wrong.He leaned forward, his elbows resting lightly on the table.“I heard you were looking for me? You wanted an answer,” he said quietly. “And here I am.”Briella’s breath stalled, her fingers twisting in her lap. She didn’t interrupt him, She didn't even have the right words.Hayden glanced around the restaurant, his voice softening.“And this..” he gestured, “this was the first place we met. So it only mad
Briella had spent the entire week oscillating between self-pity, guilt, and the heavy ache of a heart she didn’t realize she had handed to someone who no longer wanted to hold it.But that morning, after one last ugly cry in the shower, she made a decision.Enough.She couldn’t keep waiting for a message that wouldn’t come. Couldn’t keep replaying their conversation until it bruised her chest all over again. She needed to breathe. To move. To act like her life wasn’t slowly breaking along the lines of Hayden Linford’s absence.The day before Briella planned to leave the city, she and her girls agreed to go out. “Night out,” Kristen declared after listening to her rant, her tears, and her confession of losing Hayden. “You’re not dying like this.”“You’re getting dressed,” Crystal added, “because I’m not comforting you in this robe again. It’s traumatizing.”They were joking, but the affection beneath their words was soothing a bit.By evening, she stood in front of her mirror, slippin







