All Chapters of My Low‑Maintenance Love Turned High‑Risk: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Gideon's POVI took one last look at Mallory Spencer before rising from my seat and walking away."Gideon's temper is as bad as ever. It's all my fault. I told you I didn't want to come today, and now I've ruined everyone's mood…"Hank Coleman's voice drifted from behind me, sounding as spoiled and entitled as ever, along with a hint of feigned hurt. The Coleman family's bankruptcy didn't seem to have changed his personality at all.Unable to resist, I glanced back. Mallory had turned toward him. She was patting his shoulder as she murmured words of comfort.…At exactly 10:00 pm, Mallory walked through the door. She didn't even bother taking off her designer blazer before launching into a lecture."You should apologize to Hank tomorrow. From the moment you left the restaurant, he kept blaming himself for it."She looked at me with disappointment in her eyes."You're a grown man, Gideon. So many of our friends were there today, besides Hank. You shouldn't always put your own f

Gideon's POVMallory's expression faltered for a split second. She took half a step forward, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something. But with so many people around, all she said was, "Come to my office, Mr. Lyle."Once the door closed, she said, "Gideon, I'll only be making things messier if I try to offer some kind of explanation. Can you please stop acting like this?"Her voice was low, and her eyes seemed to be brimming with deep affection. She stepped toward me, reaching for my hand. I pulled away."I can explain what you just saw. Hank's family ran into trouble, so I helped him out. There's nothing going on between us. It's just a watch. If you want one, I'll get you something even better."Every year, she bought my birthday gift well in advance and had it delivered to me like clockwork on my birthday.One year, she'd given me the same leather belt she'd bought for a client."I just hate going to any unnecessary trouble. Besides, when it comes to gifts, it's the

Gideon's POVThe bidding proposal for the sales department's new project had been leaked the day before. The version obtained by a competing company was almost identical to the documents I'd handled.The sky outside the window was overcast. A car honked downstairs, its sharp blare cutting through the air.The moment I opened the door to the conference room, every pair of eyes inside locked onto me.Hank sat to Mallory's left, his body turned slightly to the side. His eyes were faintly red, and he had a wounded expression, as though he were desperately trying to hold back his emotions.My audio recorder lay on the table. A crack ran through its silver casing, snaking from top to bottom like a hideous scar. Beside it, the group chat was open on the laptop in front of Kurt Andrews, the department director. The photo I'd posted had been enlarged to fill the entire screen.Someone had replied beneath the photo, "I bet that's an edited photo."A string of agreements followed.Hank st

Mallory's POVBy the time Mallory returned home, she finally noticed that a lot of things in the house were missing. Everything that had belonged to Gideon, along with all the items they'd bought in matching sets, had disappeared.The house was empty and eerily quiet.Mallory had never thought about breaking up with Gideon. She knew he was hopelessly in love with her and would never be able to leave her.Then, she spotted the letter on the floor, and it made her freeze.It was the love letter she'd once written to Hank. It never occurred to her that Gideon would end up reading it.Her hands trembled as she pulled out her phone. All her calls were met with a robotic voice informing her that the number she'd called was out of service.Mallory opened her WhatsApp. She had a ready explanation for the entire situation involving Hank, but when she noticed that her messages didn't seem to be getting through, she stiffened.Her brows furrowed out of habit.While it was true that Gideo

Gideon's POVThe next morning, I was woken by the commotion outside. I opened the door and stepped out, only to find a crowd of people gathered in front of the inn.Somehow, word had gotten around that my inn was full of attractive people, so the news attracted quite a few guests. I was so busy I barely had time to stop and catch my breath, let alone run into Mallory or her friends.When I came back in from the backyard, Mallory ambushed me at the door."Don't you think you're acting like one of those toxic exes who only regrets what she's lost when it's too late and desperately tries to win her ex back? Sadly for you, I'm not the soft-hearted type. I'm not interested in playing these games with you, either," I said.Mallory stared at me with a piercing gaze, as if trying to find some hint of something else in my expression."We're fully booked for tonight. You'll need to find somewhere else to stay.""I can wait for a room to open up.""It's too much trouble. There's no need f