As the meeting ended, Estelle made her way out, unlike the other excos, who stayed to meet and greet the new sponsors. She had so much more on her mind, and they still had a week of meeting and greeting before the march kicked off. Running into Jeff was the last thing she expected or wanted. She ended things with him a few days ago, after three months in the relationship. She knew she should never have given in to his pressure to turn their friendship into a relationship. He got his feelings involved fast and professed his love for her a month after they began dating, and it put her off. How she managed to stay two extra months still came as a shock to her. “Hey,” he said, stepping towards her. “Hey,” she answered. “How are you doing?” “I’m doing good, and you?” “Not good, to be honest. I’ve been a mess since the breakup.” She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she kept quiet. She didn’t feel sorry. She did what she had to do, and she did it for herself. “It was for the be

Jace HenshawJace’s eyes searched the crowd of those gathered for the last meeting before the one-week march would commence, looking for Elle, but she wasn’t a part of them. She had been present in the last two meetings because of her role at the university, and she had to meet him. He had listened to her words to keep his distance, but finding her face in the crowd at the previous meeting was a sort of compensation. It made him know she was okay.He knew she didn’t forgive him; she didn’t forget what he had done, and he didn’t expect her to. He had yet to forgive himself. He was a coward and an asshole for taking for granted someone who loved him genuinely. If it was black and white, the decision would have been so much easier, but it was black, white, and grey. What she wanted was what he couldn’t give and couldn’t afford to give, yet he took what she offered without hesitation. If he could go back, he would have done some things differently. He would have been a better man for her.

He slept better with her beside him than he had in the last few years. It could have been his senses finally finding peace for the first time. Whichever way it was, he felt content. He returned to consciousness with a smile on his face at the sight of her still in his arms. She was going to be the death of him, and he wouldn’t mind at all. He planned on telling Lyon as soon as he got the chance. It was something he had hidden away for so long and no longer wanted to.He loved his best friend’s daughter, and he knew that might make him the villain in Lyon’s book, but he had been one for a long time.His finger toyed with the strands of her hair, and he leaned in and placed a fleeting kiss on her shoulder. She shivered against the feel of his lips on her skin.She turned around, and her lashes fluttered to reveal those adorable brown eyes of hers. He couldn’t help smiling down at her, even as her consciousness returned. She pouted and scrunched up her face as she did a brief stretch befo

“How’s she?” Lyon asked over the phone, his voice filled with curiosity.“Great,” Jace replied, beckoning to Becky, his PA who stood at the door unmoved to step forward. “The last time he saw her, she was doing great.”‘The last time you saw her, it was indeed great.’ the nasty voice in his head said, and he shook it off.She placed the documents in her hands on the desk before taking her leave.“I feel like the older she becomes, the further away she gets.” Lyon groaned.“And that’s how it should be, don’t you think?”He mumbled something under his breath before saying, “I don’t know, sometimes a little ‘hello, Papa, how are you doing?’ Doesn’t hurt.”He laughed at the change in his voice. “You’re getting old. You need to find yourself a wife and let your daughter live her life.”He scoffed, and he could feel him rolling his eyes. “As if you’re any better. You’re just two years younger than me, last I checked.”“Two years and three months younger,” he told him, emphasising the younger

Jace stepped into the room and paused on his step as the eyes of about six people in the room turned to face him at the door. His eyes scanned through the faces, trying to find the one that he knew and loved. She had to be somewhere here, and finally, he would get to the truth.“Hey, old man, what do you think you’re doing here?” A young man at the corner of the room, seated with a girl in his arms not older than eighteen, asked.He refused to answer, and his eyes did their search. He heard a gasp from the other end of the room, and his eyes flew there and landed on Elle, seated on the brown sofa in the arms of a blonde man.She wore a pair of thigh-high boots just like the girl that approached him earlier and a blue bodycon dress, stopping where the boot started. Her curly hair fell over her shoulders to give her a different look, and the makeup on her face was heavier than he usually saw on her. She looked surprised and scared at the sight of him, and she tried to look away and stay