I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 46

A thin haze of gray smoke hung in the air, shrouding his handsome features and intensely magnetic physique in the shadows.

At that moment, his mood was a volatile mix of frustration and conflict.

His phone rang. It was Sienna Winters.

For the first time, he didn't answer immediately.

He let it ring until it was about to go to voicemail before frowning and swiping to answer.

"Hayden, I saw you rush out right after taking a call. Did something happen?"

In the early hours of the morning, Sienna's voice dripped with deep concern.

She sounded exactly like a devoted wife waiting for news of her husband, exuding an overwhelming sense of gentle consideration.

Hayden's expression remained as dark as deep water. Sienna was asking about the very thing currently driving him crazy.

Upon receiving Mrs. Gable's call about Zoe going out, he had immediately rushed back from Sienna's place.

He had stayed late to keep Holden company today; the boy had clung to him, begging for a bedtime story.

If he had been just a few minutes earlier, Zoe would never have made it out the door.

She wouldn't have gotten blackout drunk, nor would she have gone to a bar to hire escorts.

He had no idea what she had done with those men. Had anyone touched her? Had she engaged in anything more shameful?

The mere thought filled Hayden with a murderous rage.

Trying to buy men at night, crying out her ex-boyfriend's name in her sleep.

And yet, for the past five years, she had played the role of a fiercely devoted woman perfectly.

So obsessive that every time he and Sienna made the headlines, she appeared devastated.

Zoe truly deserved an Oscar.

Today, he finally realized this woman was a massive fraud.

And ironically, the very woman he had never cared about was suddenly throwing his mind into absolute chaos.

"It's nothing. Why are you still up so late?"

He felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.

Because of Zoe, all his plans were completely derailed.

Hayden scoffed coldly. Asleep?

She was perfectly conscious when she was ordering escorts, drinking, and screaming Hunter's name.

Now she was playing dead.

He picked up the tea and carried it to the master bedroom himself.

The floor was still littered with the clothes he had stripped off Zoe, the air thick with the scent of alcohol.

Yet, it wasn't unpleasant.

Under the dim amber light, the woman in the bed had her eyes tightly shut. Her exposed back highlighted her stunning curves.

Her radiant complexion was flushed a faint pink, as soft and supple as a newborn's. At some point, she had kicked off most of the sheets, leaving only her waist and a sliver of her thighs covered.

Her impossibly long legs were tangled together. Likely parched from the alcohol, she subconsciously licked her lips, muttering softly.

"Water..."

The burning heat Hayden had forcibly suppressed surged right back up.

The woman in the bed was entirely oblivious. Hayden had the overwhelming urge to wrap her up in a blanket and dump her at a convent.