Chapter 379

Emmett watched the car pull away from the restaurant helplessly and called Carlos.

Knowing that Debbie was in a bad mood, Hayden didn’t talk much in the car.

“Where do you live?” he asked finally.

His Porsche had just left the parking lot.

“Just pull over here. I can go home by myself,” Debbie said.

They remained silent for a moment. Light music from the stereo filled the awkward silence.

Hayden sighed, “Debbie. You don’t love him, do you?” He couldn’t see any sign of affection in her eyes

when she looked at Emmett.

Debbie smiled sadly.

“Yes, I do. I love him very much.”

Hayden read her response as an effort to pretend to be strong in front of him.

“Okay, okay. You love him.” He drew closer to her to let her see how sincere he was.

“I don’t mind being a backup. If you’re ever unhappy with him, come back to me, all right?”

The genuine look in his eyes confused Debbie.

“Hayden, if you really like me, then why did you choose another girl over me in the first place?”

Hayden bowed his head in shame. After a moment, he Looked up and pulled her into his arms.

“Deb, I regret that decision every day. Only after you left me did I realize how important you are to me.”

Debbie would have been thrilled if Hayden had told her this before.

But things had changed and she had already moved on. She was not used to the new cologne he was

wearing, and the man before her was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger. True, she hadn’t seen

him in awhile, but the man whose arms she was in now was so alien, so changed from whom he once

was when they had first met. Although she was in his arms, she felt there was a huge chasm between

them. And that chasm was indeed hard to bridge.

Time does change everything.

Debbie pushed Hayden away from her and told the driver, “Stop the car!”

The driver looked at Hayden through the interior rear-view mirror, hoping to get some indication of

whether or not he should do this. But

Hayden was silent, and gave no cues, verbal or otherwise, that he should obey the girl’s orders. He

wouldn’t do as Debbie asked without

Hayden’s say-so.

Instantly, Debbie figured it out. She fumed with rage and shouted at

Hayden, “I said, stop the car!”