I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 283

Surrounded by a swarm of reporters, Zoe felt the air growing thin.

She swayed slightly on her feet.

"Are you alright?"

Garrett noticed her discomfort and used his arm to block the press.

"Excuse us, please."

He placed a steadying hand lightly on the small of Zoe's back. The moment she regained her balance, she swiftly stepped away from his touch.

From across the room, Hayden saw the exchange, and his predatory gaze turned terrifyingly dark.

He simultaneously dropped his hand from Sienna's waist.

On Sienna's end, the crowd let out a collective gasp.

A sharp, breathless shriek escaped Sienna's lips.

Ethan and Ian watched blankly as she plummeted toward the floor.

When she tipped to her left, if Ethan had just reached out to catch her, it wouldn't have been such an ugly scene.

But Ian yanked Ethan back.

And Ethan instinctively dodged.

Missed by mere inches, Sienna slammed rigidly onto the ground.

Without so much as a backward glance, Hayden strode directly toward Garrett and Zoe.

The reporters went wild at the sight of him, cameras flashing in a relentless frenzy.

"Mr. Stone?"

Hayden offered the greeting without a hint of hesitation.

In the space of a handshake, he aggressively wedged himself into the minuscule gap between Zoe and Garrett.

He essentially forced them apart, standing squarely between them.

Out of nowhere, Zoe found herself practically glued to Hayden's side.

Garrett was now standing opposite them.

The media was completely baffled.

They thought they had finally caught Garrett Stone with a secret girlfriend.

But he had just cleared the air—they were strictly professional, and the lady was married.

Yet now, Zoe was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Hayden Thorne.

The very same woman who had been dragged through the mud five years ago in that infamous drugging scandal.

Seeing them framed together like this was beyond bizarre.

The reporters felt their brains practically short-circuiting.

Were they supposed to take this picture or not?

In the distance, the actual center of attention, Sienna, was awkwardly picking herself up off the floor.

The Thorne family's scandals weren't something you casually splashed across the tabloids.

What was supposed to be a massive entertainment headline had devolved into an excruciatingly awkward social disaster.

Everyone was paralyzed.

Thankfully, Garrett possessed enough poise for the entire room.

He extended his hand.

"Mr. Thorne. I hope we'll have the chance to collaborate later."

He was neither subservient nor arrogant; they were husband and wife, after all, so them standing together was perfectly normal.

Garrett had no intention of stealing the spotlight.

Zoe rolled her eyes internally and voluntarily stepped back toward Garrett.

She only took two steps before she realized her dress was pinned under someone's foot. If she moved, it would rip.

She had no choice but to stop dead in her tracks.

Hayden was smoothly exchanging pleasantries with Garrett, completely unfazed. Zoe looked down to see Hayden's dress shoe planted firmly on the train of the new gown she had bought specifically to accompany Garrett to this bidding event.

It wasn't ridiculously expensive—just a gown worth thousands of dollars.

But Hayden's shoe had crushed it perfectly.

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