Iris’ heart slammed against her ribs.“He gave me a message to pass to you.”“Who the hell do you think I am?” Jace shot back. “Some idiot who falls for you delivering recycled garbage?”“I’m being honest! I swear! He told me to tell you something—”“The longer you stand here,” Jace said in an icy tone, “the less control I have over what I might do.”That wasn’t shouting.That was worse.But she pushed through it.“He said… they did it to help themselves. Your mom—”“Get out,” Jace snapped.But she couldn’t move.Standing there, staring at him — at the way he looked when he was this angry — only made it worse.He wasn’t shouting anymore.He was controlled.And that scared her more.The fear shut down every part of her brain that was supposed to help her escape this very dangerous guy.The only thing still functioning?The part that controlled her tears.They spilled down her face before she could stop them.Jace took a step back.“I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I’m not supposed to be cr

Paxton had been staring at Jace for the past ten minutes.It was starting to get uncomfortable.It was one thing to find out you’d been recorded for months without your knowledge.That was invasive.But it was a whole different level of irritation when someone was openly watching you in real time.With both eyes.Unblinking.“Hey,” Jace said finally, lifting his head from the book he’d been reading. “What the hell do you want?”Paxton didn’t flinch.“I think you need therapy, Jace.”Jace’s expression didn’t change.“Wait,” Paxton added quickly before he could be dismissed. “Just think about it. Everything that’s happened in the last few days. You’re not even slightly concerned you might not be… stable right now?”He tapped his own temple.Jace’s jaw tightened.“What’s your point?”“I walked past Iris when I was coming in,” Paxton said carefully. “She had a cap on. Didn’t say anything. Just nodded at me and got into a black SUV.”He paused.“I couldn’t see her face properly. But I’m pr

“And you don’t have to raise your voice. We can talk without fighting, man to man,” the guy said, low and measured, but with that unshakable strictness.“You know what? I’m done,” Jace snapped, standing up so fast the chair scraped the floor.“You overreacted. She would have apologized in secret. But no, you just had to blow up, being too selfish,” the guy said, calm as a shark circling.Jace leaned forward, his voice dripping venom. “I thought, for a fucking second, your brain would match that responsible face of yours. Turns out…you’re just as dumb as all the minions around her.”The guy stood too. The coffee shop was nearly empty anyway.“That day when you found out what Maya did…you could’ve kept your shit together. Gone back to your room, cried in private, and then Maya would have begged for forgiveness. Clean breakup. Done.”“Clean?” Jace echoed, voice low and dangerous.“You’ve never really dated, have you? Then you get stuck with a hurricane like Maya. Lucky bastard. If it wer

Maya’s guy genuinely believed luck had just proposed to him.Because what were the odds?He had just left Maya’s place, still riding the high of promising her something “big,” when Jace flagged down his car like he was some damn Uber driver.For a second, he almost didn’t stop.His car wasn’t luxury, sure — but it wasn’t cheap either. And for Jace to mistake it for a ride-share after everything? That was insult layered on injury.But then a thought hit him.Opportunity.So he stopped.Jace got in without even looking properly at the driver. Just shut the door and leaned back like the world owed him silence.At first, he thought Jace was heading back to the school hostel.Nope.The idiot directed him toward a clothing mall.Shopping?Was he seriously about to drown his heartbreak in retail therapy?Pathetic.A few minutes earlier, he had called Maya to “anticipate the news.”And the news?Jace’s death.It was all planned.He’d take the highway. Push the car to a dangerous speed. Hit th

Maya had never felt this furious. Or this embarrassed. Or this utterly out of control.First, she had been dragged to the hospital because some reckless idiot had mentioned her name as an accomplice before passing out.Accomplice.As if she had told him to crash a car.As if she needed that kind of stupidity tied to her name.From the hospital, it had been straight to the police station.Statements.Questions.Side glances.Then the bills.The damages were real. The reports were official. And her name had been floating around just enough to make everything uncomfortable.She stepped outside the station and dialed his number again.He picked up from the hospital bed.His voice was weak. Pathetic. Almost crying as he described the pain.She didn’t care.“Once you get out of that hospital bed — which I honestly hope you never do — I never want to see you again!” she shouted.And hung up.Her hands were shaking.This year was supposed to be clean.Strategic.Jace had been her only “projec