I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 575

His arms were empty, and it felt as though a piece of his chest had been hollowed out.

Ethan, Quentin, and Ian had heard the gunshot and rushed over, spotting Hayden and Zoe.

Seeing that Zoe was completely unharmed while Hayden had just risked his life for her, Ethan couldn't hold back his venom.

"See that, Hayden? You throw your heart to a dog, and she bites your hand."

Zoe fired back instantly. "Since when do dogs have hearts? You should go home and practice rolling over, Ethan."

The insult was sharp, precise, and left Ethan practically vibrating with rage, entirely unable to formulate a comeback.

"Let's go, Garrett."

Zoe had zero interest in trading barbs with Ethan, and she couldn't stomach looking at Hayden.

The dark, brooding expression on his face made it look as though she was the one who had betrayed him. His usual ruthlessness had morphed into a sickening display of resentment.

Resentment? Give me a break. Zoe ignored him completely. Hayden's toxicity was etched into her bones.

The further she stayed from this plague of a man, the longer she'd live.

Ethan was fuming. "You see this? We were totally blind to ever help a woman like her."

Quentin's lips twitched into a grimace. "You are blind. Shut up. Hayden's been shot."

Ian and Ethan's eyes instantly snapped to Hayden. Only then did they realize blood was steadily soaking through the sleeve of his arm.

Ethan went ballistic, but Ian grabbed him.

"Where are you going?"

"To get Zoe! He took a bullet for her. She thinks she can just walk away?"

Ian groaned. "Stop making it worse."

In modern warfare, these units are invincible. Once we scale production and cut costs, we can reallocate our resources toward training elite strategic commanders."

Garrett's expression grew darker as he processed her analysis.

"Which means, the second this tech goes live, it becomes a massive threat to every rival nation. We'd achieve global dominance almost instantly."

Zoe nodded slowly. "In a conventional sense, yes. But AI is limited to physical warfare. It doesn't account for biological or chemical weapons. That's entirely outside my scope."

Garrett shook his head. "That's not what I mean. I'm talking about the attack today. Those weren't random thugs. On paper, it looked like a hit on Sterling because he's the face of the project.

But even if they take him out, there will always be another Commissioner. What terrifies me is... they might actually be hunting you."

Zoe's blood ran cold. The logic was sound.

As she fell into a heavy silence, Garrett, assuming she was terrified, reached over to comfort her.