FULL NOVELXO Chapter Hello 154
Chapter 154
As I was paying for my purchase, my phone buzzed. It was Hayden calling me back,
"Sorry, I was busy earlier and just saw your message," he explained.
"Yeah, I figured. Are you free now?" I asked.
"What time?" Hayden replied.
I paused, thinking it over. If we went at six, we'd show up right in the middle of dinner, and Matthew and Lindey would definitely invite us to stay. I wouldn't mind, but Hayden might feel weird about it.
"Seven-thirty," I finally said. By then, the Johnston family would be done with dinner, and it'd be less
awkward.
"Alright, I'll come pick you up at seven. Sound good? Hayden offered.
I couldn't help but laugh. "How are you planning to pick me up? Ride a shared bike?"
It was meant as a joke, but when Hayden didn't respond right away, I realized maybe it didn't land the way I thought.
"Wait, I didn't mean anything by that," I quickly said, trying to backtrack. "I'll come pick you up instead."
"I'll be home half an hour early. We can leave together, Hayden replied, then paused before asking, "Do I need to bring any gifts?"
"No, I've already taken care of that," I said, then hung up. When I looked up, I caught Tanya staring at me. No matter how much time passed, I could always sense that mix of envy-and maybe even jealousy- whenever her eyes landed on me. There was nothing left to say, so I grabbed my things and headed out.
Instead of going straight home, I stopped by a men's clothing store. Since I was bringing Hayden with me tonight, I couldn't have him show up in his usual everyday clothes.
I wasn't sure if he had anything suitable to wear, but considering I was already dragging him into this whole charade, buying him a nice outfit felt like the least I could do.
By six, I scarfed down a quick dinner and then settled in to wait for Hayden to get home.
But instead of him, my phone lit up with a call from Demi. "Keira, do you have time tonight? I really wanna catch up."
1 kinda didn't
"What's up? We can talk now if it's quick. I'm headed over to the Johnstons' later," I said, being upfront.
"Oh, seriously? That sucks," Demi sighed, sounding bummed.
I took a bite of the apple sitting in front of me. "I'll take you out for dinner another time, promise."
"I don't care about dinner," she groaned. "I've been losing it the last few days. I didn't want to bug you, but if I don't vent, I'm gonna explode." Chapter 154
I frowned "What happened? [
Did Mr. Hart pull something again?"
+25 BONUS
"No, it's not him-it's that bitch, Tanya," Demi hissed, and I froze mid-bite.
I'd already bumped into Tanya earlier today, and now her name was popping up again. Seemed like she was determined to ruin my day.
"What did she do this time?" I asked casually.
And that's when Demi started going off, talking a mile a minute like she'd been holding it in forever." Tanya's acting like she's some kind of queen because she's pregnant.
"You'd think she needs a palanquin or something, scared to take a single step like the ground's gonna break under her.
"If she's that fragile, why not just stay in bed? Problem solved!"
I let out a small laugh. "Gotta earn that baby formula money somehow."
"Please, she's just showing off! Making a huge deal out of nothing, trying to convince everyone she's carrying Mr. Johnston's future heir," Demi's rant made my apple taste a little less sweet. "It's possible," I said, playing it cool.
"Wait, you're serious?" Demi's voice practically jumped through the phone. "If she's really carrying his kid, that means Mr. Johnston's been cheating on you this whole time. What a complete dirtbag!"
I couldn't even swallow the bite of apple in my mouth, I put it down, staying quiet.
"Keira, come on. I don't think that's actually happening. Demi went on, sounding uncertain now. "If she was really pregnant with Mr. Johnston's baby, she'd be living large by now. But every time she sees you, she acts like she's walking on eggshells, all nervous and fake polite."
I had to give it to Demi-she somehow managed to roast Tanya and drag me into it at the same time.