Chapter 3
Back when Jace first started his company, it was my mom who gave him his first investment.
He literally got down on his knees and swore,
“If I ever hurt Sloane, may I never know peace.“]]
To be fair, there was a time when he truly loved me.[]
But that was all before he made it big.
Maybe it was from cleaning out everything that once had my name on it,[]
But I passed out on the couch.]
In my dream, we were back on campus, the day we first met.
But when I woke up, the big house was empty.
Just me.
0
Looked at the clock–6 a.m.]
My flight was early the next morning, so I’d have to leave around the same time.
Which meant…
24 hours left before I said goodbye to Jace for good.
But he still hadn’t come home.]]
Not once, since returning from his trip, had he stepped foot back in our place.
I decided it was time to just call him.]
End it directly.
“Sloane, what’s up?“[]
Him answering this early? That was rare.
Right before I could say anything, I heard another voice–an older woman’s.
“You again?”
“Getting breakfast for your girl? You’re such a sweetheart!“]
6 a.m. breakfast.
He never once bought that for me.
The rest of the call was a blur.
He hung up fast.
Then came the text:
[Sorry, just got out of a
a
A breakfast meeting at a foo
- g. I’ll be home this afternoon.]]
By 8 a.m., Zoey had posted again.
[The one who
Yes you a
Sure.
mond might not love you.
But the one who gets up at 6 a.m. to bring you breakfast definitely does.]]]
Perfect.
She had the diamond and the breakfast.]
wish them well.
I got up and started packing.
Didn’t take long–r’d already thrown out everything I didn’t want.[]
There’d be no trace of me left in this house.
At 6 p.m., Jace actually showed up.[]
One of the rare times he actually kept his word.[]
But by now, I had just 12 hours left before my flight home.
He was carrying a gift box.
“Sloane, I’ve been slammed lately. I’m sorry.]]
I got this for you–it’s for our anniversary.“]
It was the designer bag I’d mentioned liking once.
Sure, I loved it.
But anyone with a credit card can buy a luxury handbag.
Not everyone gets up at dawn for breakfast runs.]
And I knew the difference.[]
“Thanks.” I said, flat and cool.]]
Jace let out a relieved laugh.
“I knew you’d love it.“]]
He pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead.
“Sloane, once this craziness dies down, I’ll take you to Scandinavia.
You always said you wanted to see the Northern Lights.“[]
“Mm.”
I whispered back.
But I didn’t believe him.[]
Not anymore.
