I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 649

"..."

Hayden let out a dry, exasperated laugh.

What kind of situation was this? She honestly thought he was using Lily as a human shield, banking on Zoe running back to save him out of maternal instinct if things went south.

"Fine. You take Lily, and I'll lure the tail away."

For once, Zoe was actually satisfied with Hayden.

She even gave him a lingering look.

At least right now, he was acting somewhat human.

Before stepping out of the car, she turned back to him. "If you die, I'll make sure to let your mother know where to pick up your ashes."

As his former wife, not scattering his ashes to the wind was courteous enough.

"..."

Hayden replied with practiced politeness. "Thank you. But you're overthinking it."

Slam—

Zoe shut the door forcefully. Hayden purposely parked right by the entrance and waited.

The car tailing them kept its distance, but still held Hayden's vehicle in its line of sight.

He lit a cigarette, taking a slow, casual drag.

After what felt like ages, a message from Zoe chimed.

"Lily and I are in the car. We're out of here."

Hayden typed back: "Copy that."

Seeing her message, a fraction of the tension drained from his shoulders.

The distant car was still parked. Hayden slowly put his SUV into drive, navigating toward an isolated area before deliberately turning down a dead-end alley.

Unsurprisingly, the tail followed him right in.

Hayden threw his door open and stepped out. Behind the trailing car, his covert security detail sealed off the exit, trapping the pursuer completely.

He marched straight toward the vehicle. The second the door cracked open and Harvey Sterling's face appeared, Hayden delivered a brutal punch.

Without waiting to register who it was, Hayden kept the hits coming.

Harvey wasn't a pushover either. The two men traded vicious blows. Hayden's bodyguards held their ground, refusing to step in without a direct order. Ten minutes later, both men were sporting bruises and split lips.

Hayden ultimately maintained the upper hand, and Harvey finally called it.

"Commander Thorne, that's enough."

Hayden glared coldly at him. "You trailed me all the way here. Give me a reason."

If he couldn't spit out a good one, Hayden was fully prepared to send him straight to the military tribunal.

Harvey used to respect Hayden, but now, he viewed him as a massive thorn in his side.

"Fair? Try fathering two of her children first, then we can talk."

"..."

Harvey opened his mouth to retort, but Hayden just shot him a look. "Answer your phone."

The ringtone was blaring from Harvey's pocket.

Stinging from his wounded pride, there was no way Harvey was going to take orders from Hayden right now.

"I'm not finished talking."

Hayden let out a dark chuckle. "You have to take this call. Because if you don't, the next call you get will be from the military tribunal, not your daddy."

Startled, Harvey pulled his phone out. Sure enough, Commissioner Sterling's name was flashing on the screen.

Hayden didn't spare him another glance. He turned and walked back to his SUV.

Harvey didn't dare ignore it. The second he swiped to answer, his father's deep, commanding, and utterly furious voice boomed through the speaker.

"You little brat. What kind of mess did you stir up this time?"

Harvey knew better than to hide anything from the Commissioner, but he had no idea how to explain this disaster.

"Save your breath. I know you've set your sights on Zoe, and I want her as my daughter-in-law, too. But we need a long-term strategy for this. Don't go picking fights with Commander Thorne recklessly.