Haynes stoodpletely speechless.


    He couldn''t argue with a single point she had made.


    Finally, he rasped out, "Does Joshua honestly mean more to you than your own son?"


    He had asked her that question half a dozen times before.


    And she had always artfully dodged it.


    This time, however, she gave him the brutal truth.


    Every syble was coated in steel.


    "Yes. He means more to me than anyone walking this earth.


    That''s why I refuse to let him die, and I certainly won''t let him lose his mind.


    If there is even a fraction of a chance to save him, I''m taking it."


    Haynes''s pupils dted in shock, his fists curling into tight white knots at his sides.


    To stand there and listen to his ex-wife-the mother of his child-confess that she was willing to weaponize their boy just to save another man...


    The sheer devastation tearing through him was impossible to articte.


    The bitter reality crashed over him like a tidal wave.


    She loved Joshua Gardner with a reckless, apocalyptic devotion.


    Out of nowhere, a masochistic question slipped past his lips.


    "Did you ever... did you ever love me like that?"


    Ste looked mildly surprised by the inquiry.


    A dryugh escaped her. "Are you really trying topare a man who would burn down his entire empire for me, to a man who tossed me aside for another woman? Haynes, before I met Joshua, I genuinely believed I was deeply in love with you.


    But looking back? What we had was mediocre at best.


    Being with you taught me that I always had to look out for myself first.


    Joshua taught me what it means to surrenderpletely.


    Giving someone your entire soul isn''t about how much you have to lose it''s about whether they''re worth the sacrifice.


    And Joshua is worth every bit of it."


    Haynes understood the underlying insult perfectly.


    Joshua was worth the sacrifice. Haynes never was.


    The air was sucked from his lungs, leaving behind a suffocating mix of remorse and agony.


    Jealousy burned hot in his veins, warring with a begrudging sense of awe.


    Ultimately, the storm of emotions settled into a bleak, helpless defeat.


    He hated his rival with a passion, but


    he couldn''t deny the unimp


    truth: Joshua Gardner


    better man for her. Content Belongs


    Shoulders slumping, Haynes surrendered. "What exactly do you need Keen and me to do?"


    "If it''s just the two of us acting, he''ll


    see right through it," she exined. "But he knows I''d never put my son


    in the crossfire His presencemakes the lie bulletproof."


    Haynes looked at her with tant pity. "If he means that much to you, how can you bear to shatter his heart like this?"


    Ste dropped her gaze, a hollow, dead smile pulling at her mouth.


    "He''ll forget. Every piece of this agonizing betrayal... it''ll all be wiped away.


    And even if the memories ever surface again... I''ll just be an ugly mistake he won''t care to revisit.


    When you don''t care, you can''t be hurt. And if you aren''t hurt, you don''t lose control."


    "You''ve mapped out his entire salvation," Haynes said quietly. "But what about you? What are you going to do?"


    "I''ll survive. I''ve had more than my fair share of happiness."


    She looked up at him.


    "Haynes, if you can''t stomach this, walk away. I won''t force you."


    A bitter sigh escaped him. "Ste, you know I can never say no to you."


    She hesitated before offering a grim warning. "Keen will be safe, but you... I can''t guarantee Joshua won''te after you."


    In fact, it was almost a certainty that Joshua would try to rip him apart.


    Joshua''s terrifying possessiveness wouldn''t even tolerate her childhood friends or bodyguards. A lingering ex-husband was practically adeath sentence. Contenit


    Even with the divorce papers finalized, the simple existence of Keen meant Haynes


    would always be inextricably tied to her.