I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 440

On the day of her release, a sleek black SUV pulled up smoothly outside the detention center gates.

Through the half-lowered window, Hayden’s sharp, stoic profile was visible. Sienna stumbled out, her face pale and her clothes disheveled. She looked entirely out of sorts, her mental state fragile.

She had been a golden child her entire life, basking in privilege and pride.

This was her first time being locked up—forced to wear a uniform, sleep in a damp double cell, fight for the toilet, and stand on duty.

The bedding had mysterious stains. During her first few days, she had nearly lost her mind.

Hayden opened the car door. His black dress shoes stepped onto the hard pavement as he reached out to take her meager belongings.

“It's been hard on you. We can talk when we get back.”

Sienna couldn't believe he was actually here.

Those past few months had been pure torture—endless nightmares filled with cockroaches and rats.

Those were creatures she had only ever seen on television.

She stared at him with hollow eyes as all the suffocating grievances poured out.

She wanted to scream at him, to demand where he had been all those nights she was locked away in the dark.

When she needed him most, she thought he would fiercely defend her and punish Zoe.

Instead, she was slapped with a three-month sentence. All her pride had been ripped to shreds. She had been kicked off her pedestal and dragged through the mud.

Hayden gently guided her into the car. Sienna sat in the back, still completely dazed.

In the driver's seat, Colin Zachs sneaked a glance at her through the rearview mirror.

The once arrogant, untouchable woman had finally been brought low.

Sienna kept her head bowed for the entire ride, wringing her hands together in total silence.

Hayden offered in a low, comforting tone.

“Your mother and Julian are waiting for you at home. Let the past stay in the past.”

A whirlwind of emotions rushed through her. With Hayden backing her, her shattered pride began to stitch itself back together. A warm flush spread through her veins.

“You still believe in me?”

He didn't reply, and Sienna didn't press him.

Hayden dropped her off at the Winters Estate. The moment Mrs. Winters spotted the familiar car and her daughter, she sprinted outside.

Seeing Hayden carefully open the door and escort Sienna out, she let out a massive sigh of relief.

A smug sense of triumph filled her chest.

From the very beginning, Hayden had only ever cared about Sienna.

Ever since the trial, Mrs. Winters hadn't had a single day of peace.

She had been terrified that Sienna had fallen out of Hayden's favor, which would mean the total ruin of the Winters family.