LOGINJORDYN š¹Declan Hawthorne just kissed me.Even after he pulled away, I stood there, frozen. My fingertips brushed the place his mouth had been. My stomach twisted at the mischievous smirk still playing on his lips.āMr. H-Hawthorneā¦āāDeclan,ā he corrected, turning to retrieve his glass. āWeāre dating now.āI stared at him. He spoke like he hadnāt just kissed me out of the blue.āThat wasnāt a part of the agreement.āāWhat wasnāt?āāYou kissed me. And we werenāt even outside.āHe shrugged and took a slow sip. My fingers tightened around my purse until the leather creaked.āYouāll meet my mother tomorrow night,ā he muttered, reaching into his pocket. āGet everything you need.āA black card appeared between his fingers. His name was engraved across it in silver.āWhatās this?āāA card.āāWhat card?āāTake the fucking card, Jordyn.āāWhy are you giving me your card?āāUse it.ā He sat, swirling the remaining liquor in his glass. My mother is a perfectionist. Dress to impress.āI didnāt w
ā ļø DECLAN ā ļøTyrique Sinclair.All it took was one call from Rook, and I left the gallery. Jordyn looked petrified when she saw me, and Tyrique seemed⦠possessive.Sheād claimed there was nothing going on between them. But I knew what I saw. It was more intense than what Iād seen outside the gallery.Their faces were only an inch from touching, and his fingers trailed against her chin as if he wanted to kiss her.Or heād kissed her and wanted to do it again before I walked in. I looked at Tyrique, still holding her.āI suggest you let her go.āHe huffed, stepping forward. āYou should do the same thing.āāI was about to go home,ā Jordyn said. āBoth of you need toāāāāāI wonāt tell you again.āTyrique smirked, his eyes glinting with defiance. My jaw clenched, and I held Jordyn tighter before I could stop myself.āYou met me here, Declan. Get out.āāStop!āJordyn snapped and wriggled her hands free. She darted her eyes between us and hissed before storming out of the office.I followed h
JORDYN š¹āWhat did you do, Jordyn?āMelissa reprimanded me over the phone. I paced around in my office, raking my hands through my hair.āIt happened so fast, Mel,ā I said in frustration. āHe was going to tell Vanessa something that wasnāt true.āāYouāre messing this up,ā she said, the sound of horses neighing in the background. āI told you to be careful.āāI was,ā I corrected myself immediately. āI am.āāBy pretending to date Declan for six months? You totally have no idea what youāre doing.āI groaned softly. I slammed my hand into my forehead and winced at the pain Iād inflicted upon myself.āMelissa. Please donāt make me regret this more than I already have.āShe didnāt respond. I heard her talking to someone else in the background before murmuring to me seconds later.āWeāll talk about this when I get home.āMelissa hung up when the phone was still placed against my ear. I clutched it tightly, then tossed it back to my work table.Six months.That was a long time.How did I end
š¹JORDYN š¹I blinked my eyes at Declan to make sure I wasnāt hallucinating. He wanted me to date him? For what? Six months?I sat upright in my chair, dropped the glass carefully on his table, and faced him with narrowed eyes.āIām sorry, Mr. Hawthorne. But, I donāt quite understand.āHe shrugged, took a sip from his glass and muttered nonchalantly. āI made myself very clear.āāYour girlfriend?ā I scoffed in disbelief. āWhy? You donāt even know me.āOr did he have a hidden motive behind it? Being the sneaky, two-faced person I was, I knew when people did something like that, it was probably for an agenda.A secret motive.And my gut feeling told me that Declan had one. Even when I wasnāt sure what it was yet.He tutted, his eyes fixed intently on me in a way that left me⦠self aware.āYouāre a pretty woman, Stalkie.āāItās Jordyn.āāDaring too,ā he added, ignoring the correction. āResilient, persistent, and thatās exactly what Iām looking for.āāIf this is about the frequent meetin
š¹JORDYN š¹ I didnāt see Declan or Tyrique for the rest of the night. I called a cab that drove me back home, and reminisced about what had happened. My fingers brushed against Declanās card, and a small smile crept over my lips. Finally, Iād gotten through to him. And I didnāt even do that with Tyās help. When the car pulled up in front of my gates, I stepped out, and paid him before walking inside. Melissa wasnāt in her room as usual, and I knew she was probably working overnight at the animal shelter. Taking off my wine-stained dress, I replayed every second with Declan. His hands had been on my waist. His eyes had held mine for only a heartbeat, yet my pulse refused to settle. I hated myself for remembering how it felt. Because that same man had stolen the only thing that had ever mattered to me. After what felt like hours of overthinking, I finally walked into the shower, had a warm bath, then retired to bed. * āJordyn Mercer,ā I said quietly. āIām here to
JORDYN š¹I didnāt wait to see what anyone else was doing.Not Ty. Not Vanessa. Not the eyes I could still feel lingering on me.I turned away, desperate to be anywhere but under those chandelier lights. The sting of wine on my skin had dried slightly, but the embarrassment lingered. My dress clung in places it shouldnāt, and every step away from that spot sent my heart racing at a breakneck pace.I needed air... Or silence. Or both.Declan had ordered for the broken mess to be cleaned. And while the cleaners attended to it, he turned and walked away without another word.One of the women passed by me with a polite smile, but I only gave a brief nod in return.āIām fine,ā I muttered before she could even ask. I wasnāt, but that wasnāt the point.Iād been thereāwith Declan. Weād been close, his hand tightly wrapped around my waist, and his hot breath against my face.And it had done something to my insides.For a second, Iād almost forgotten my words, and allowed myself to be captiva
š¹JORDYN š¹āWhereās my husband?ā Vanessa asked one of the housekeepers after weād taken our spots at the table.I pretended not to pay attention to whatever she was saying, knowing fully well that Iād barely escaped from his room.āI informed Don about twenty minutes ago, andā" the housekeeper beg
š¹JORDYN š¹At exactly three-thirty pm, I stood outside the gates of the Sinclairsā estate. Vanessa wanted me over by three, but I didnāt want to appear desperate by sticking to time.Even though Iād been within the vicinity since two pm, sitting in the car and waiting patiently to show up late.Fo
JORDYNāMs. Jordyn?āVanessaās voice wasnāt enough to make me open my eyes, so she snapped her fingers in my face instead.Slowly, I blinked them open, and the first person I saw after inhaling the familiar scent of cedar wood was⦠Tyrique.He stood tall. He was dressed in a tailored tuxedo, lookin
JORDYNThe rain drizzled against the window, and my chest tightened instantly.I hated rain.It didnāt just remind me of the pastāit dragged me back into it. Voices whispering⦠to run⦠hide⦠disappear.And right now, it felt like I was reliving the past all over again at the sight of the rain outsi







