Chapter 43
Hayes's POV
The first course arrived. Conversations flowed around the table—updates on careers, marriages, kids. I pretended to listen, but my attention kept drifting.
To the way Aiden refilled her water glass without asking.
To the way she said "thank you" in that soft voice she used when trying not to draw attention to herself.
The glass in my hand might shatter at any moment.
Brianna pulled out her phone, scrolling idly.
"Did you guys see that post on the forum the other day?"
The table went quiet.
I felt my jaw tighten.
"What post?" Zach asked.
"The one with Hayes and Sienna at the training facility," Brianna said.
Someone chimed in. "I saw it too! I think the title was something like 'Sterling Finally Dating? Mystery Woman Spotted at Private Training.'"
"The forum exploded. It was trending number one for a solid two hours."
Across the table, Sienna's knuckles went white around her glass.
"That was a work project," she said, her voice too flat. "Someone took photos without permission."
I set my glass down with a deliberate clink.
"Those photos were taken illegally and posted without consent." My voice came out colder than intended. "My legal team handled it."
I didn't confirm anything. I didn't deny anything. I just shut it down with the weight of consequences: illegal, legal team, handled.
Brianna blinked, her smile faltering.
"So..." She tried again, her voice shakier. "What's your relationship? Just work?"
I turned my head slowly, letting my gaze settle on her with the kind of cold I used right before a snap.
"Project collaboration. Is that a problem?"
She laughed nervously and looked away. "No, no. Of course not."
But the damage was done. Everyone at the table had felt the temperature shift. And that shift said everything my words didn't.
---
The conversation moved on. Someone mentioned the senior year theater production. Someone else brought up the formal.
Then Zach, three drinks deep, grinned and said, "Remember when Hayes used to wait outside the library every night just to walk Sienna home?"
My stomach dropped.
"Oh my God, yes," a female classmate laughed. "Hayes, you were so obvious. Everyone knew."
"And that time at the winter formal," Zach added. "You gave her roses in front of the whole school. So romantic."
I kept my face neutral, but inside I was dying.
Because I did remember. I remembered the way she'd looked at me that night, like I'd hung the moon for her. I remembered how her hand fit perfectly in mine.
Then Brianna leaned forward, her smile too wide.
"I remember when Sienna had that allergic reaction junior year. Hayes literally ditched practice and carried her to the nurse's office. Coach was furious."
She laughed, like it was a cute story.
But all I could think about was how Sienna had been shaking in my arms that day. How she'd whispered I can't breathe, and I'd felt my entire world narrow to one goal: keep her alive.
Across the table, Sienna set down her glass.
"That was a long time ago." Her voice was steady, controlled. She paused, then added, "We broke up years ago."
The words landed like stones.
My hand froze mid-reach for my drink.
We broke up years ago.
It felt like a knife sinking into my chest.
She said it so easily. So casually. Like we were nothing. Like those two years—every late night in the library, every promise, every time I'd told her I loved her—meant nothing.
I stared at my glass, my throat closing up, my pulse roaring in my ears.
I picked up the whiskey and drank the rest in one burning swallow.
Brianna wasn't done. With theatrical flair, she raised her glass.
"So is this like an ex-reunion situation? Front-row seats to awkward exes? I love it."
No one laughed.
The air went still.
And something inside me snapped.
I slammed my empty glass onto the table.
The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot. The amber liquid sloshed violently in the glass. Every conversation stopped. Brianna actually flinched.
I leaned back in my chair, letting the silence stretch, then said in a voice that was quiet but laced with menace:
"Done yet?"
My gaze swept across Brianna, then the others who'd been digging up the past. Finally, it landed on Sienna.
In that moment, I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about being polite. I didn't care about keeping up appearances.
I was tired. So fucking tired of pretending this didn't hurt.
Mrs. Carter quickly intervened, her voice warm and deflecting. "Alright, alright. This is my birthday, not a trip down memory lane. Let's talk about something happier."
The tension eased slowly, conversations resuming in awkward fits and starts.
I stood up and muttered something about needing to take a call.
I walked down the hallway, past the restrooms, all the way to the emergency exit at the end. I leaned against the cold concrete wall, one hand in my pocket, the other holding a cigarette.
But I didn't light it.
I was just trying to calm myself down.
Because every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again: Sienna sitting next to Aiden. The easy way they talked. The way she smiled at him—not guarded, not tense. Just... relaxed.
Like she felt safe with him.
Like she used to feel safe with me.
I pressed my fist against the wall, the cold plaster biting into my knuckles.
---
Sienna's POV
After Hayes left the table, I escaped to the bathroom, desperate for air.
I stood at the sink, gripping the cold porcelain, forcing myself to breathe slowly. My reflection stared back at me—pale.
Pull yourself together. Just get through tonight.
I splashed cold water on my face, dried my hands, and pushed open the door—
—and froze.
Hayes was in the hallway.
Leaning against the wall near the emergency exit, arms crossed, watching me like he'd been waiting.
My heart stopped.
I immediately turned, trying to walk past him toward the dining room.
But his hand shot out and caught my wrist.
"Hayes—"
He didn't say anything. Just pulled me toward the emergency exit door and pushed it open.
The door slammed shut behind us, cutting off all sound from the restaurant.
We were alone.