Chapter 15
The moment she said “boyfriend,” it was like a bolt of lightning crashed into Declan’s skull. His
ears buzzed, his chest went hollow.
“You… you have a boyfriend?” he asked, stunned.
Marissa blinked, confused by how violently he reacted, but nodded without hesitation.
She didn’t see the need to hide it. Her boyfriend wasn’t some secret shame–quite the opposite. After a pause, as if remembering something important, she looked up again and added, “Actually, we’re here to plan our wedding. After that, we probably won’t be coming back. But if you’d like to attend, you’re more than welcome.”
Before the words had even finished leaving her lips, a voice called out from a distance, growing closer by the second. “Marissa! You’ve been in the restroom forever. I was about to send in a search
party.”
She turned toward the sound, already smiling. And sure enough, Adrian Carter appeared.
Halfway through his teasing, Adrian finally noticed the man standing beside her. His brows lifted slightly in recognition. “Oh–who’s this?”
Marissa didn’t hesitate. “This is Declan Hawthorne, CEO of Hawthorne Group–the family that
sponsored my education. The one I told you about.”
Then she turned to Declan. “This is Adrian Carter. My fiancé.”
That one sentence hit Declan twice as hard.
He never thought he’d hear Marissa introduce him as nothing more than “the people who helped pay her tuition“-a stranger, a faded footnote.
And Adrian… Adrian was the final nail in the coffin.
Before Adrian showed up, Declan could still cling to the hope that this “boyfriend” she mentioned was just a bluff, a jab meant to hurt him. But now, seeing them together–her body unconsciously leaning toward Adrian, her tone softer, more familiar when she spoke to him–there was no denying it.
Even if they weren’t engaged, even if they were only close friends, the intimacy was unmistakable.
“Mr. Hawthorne,” Adrian said smoothly, offering his hand. His smile was polite, but his eyes held
Chapter 15
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no warmth. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard you a lot.”
He’d heard all about Marissa’s past–how she came from the small town, where her parents had
tried to force her into marriage before she was even out of school.
And how the Hawthornes had stepped in just in time, pulling her out of that life and helping her pursue an education.
What he hadn’t realized, though, was that those Hawthornes were the Hawthorne family. That the
wealthy patrons she once mentioned–the ones who had funded her tuition–were the same people
she’d lived with for years. That the heir she’d quietly cared for through his darkest days was none
other than Declan Hawthorne himself. The man who had once meant everything to her… and had discarded her like she was nothing.
But looking at Declan now, with that stunned expression and the grief he tried to hide behind pride, Adrian connected the dots easily.
After a beat of silence, he smiled again and said, “I should thank you, actually. If you hadn’t let her go, I’d never have had the chance.”
And he meant it.
Because if Declan–or anyone in that house–had shown Marissa the respect she deserved, she
might still be there, holding onto hope, waiting for scraps of affection. She might never have left.
Even just a single sentence back then-“I’ll marry you someday“-might’ve changed everything.
But Declan had said nothing. And now, it was far too late.
The tension between the two men thickened, like the air might snap.
Marissa glanced between them and decided she’d had enough of this testosterone standoff. She gave Declan a polite nod, then slipped her arm around Adrian’s and walked off without another
word.
Once they’d put some distance between themselves and Declan, she gave Adrian a curious side–eye.
“You’re acting weird,” she said.
“Weird?” he repeated innocently. “I think you’re imagining things.”
The wheels of their suitcase clattered along the sidewalk, and after a moment of thought, Marissa let out a soft laugh. “Wait… were you jealous?”
Chapter 15
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That struck a nerve. Adrian scoffed. “You’re seriously asking me that?”
“You saw what he and his family did to you,” he said, his tone sharper now. “You really don’t hold any resentment toward them? Not even a little?”
