The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 257

The market was chaos, all noise and shouting. Petty covered the phone’s mouthpiece and said quietly, “I’m at the morning market with the police, just checking around for any other clues.”

Hans didn’t hesitate. “I’ll come find you. Maybe I’ll be useful.”

As soon as he said he would come, Petty tried to stop him. “Don’t. What if the paparazzi spot us? Come on, I’m married. If we’re seen together, wouldn’t your anti-fans have a field day?”

Really, they’d already been caught together once, years ago.

Hans had joined showbiz at eighteen. He became famous so young, his fan base was huge. When he was nineteen, Petty once went out to dinner with him. She wasn’t used to alcohol and got tipsy fast. Hans half-held, half-carried her to the car. Unfortunately, the paparazzi caught it on camera. By that night, rumors took over the internet. Hans’s fans went wild, dragging the mystery woman online, everything blowing up way out of proportion.

Petty woke up to find everything a mess, almost crying with worry.

Hans saw how close she was to tears. He knew she was nervous Franco would get the wrong idea, especially since she hadn’t confessed how she really felt to him yet. Hans tried to comfort her. “What are you crying for? I’ll just tell everyone I like dudes.”

He actually posted a picture of himself with a soft-haired boy curled up against his chest, captioning it, “The person I like—a guy.”

The video the paparazzi posted didn’t show Petty’s face, just her small frame in loose clothes. Everyone believed Hans’s story.

Hans coming out practically broke the internet. That’s when people started calling him “Top Dog.”

Petty teased him, “You like guys? Since when? Don’t tell me you’re secretly in love with me and pretending for my sake.”

Hans just laughed, called her shameless, and hung up.

Later, he did introduce her to his actual boyfriend. She saw Hans kiss his cheek with her own eyes. As far as she knew Hans, he never would have faked something like that. But later on, a couple years ago, Hans said they broke up.

Now, on the phone, Hans said, “I’ll be totally disguised, no one will recognize me. Just wait.”

He pulled out his phone, meaning to call her and check her exact location. But just as he lifted his phone, he saw her standing not too far away.

A smile tugged at his lips beneath the mask. Then, suddenly, he saw it—within the shifting crowd, a glint of metal, a fruit knife aimed right at Petty.

“Petty, look out!”

All she heard was Hans’s familiar voice, just before a strong pair of arms yanked her in, holding her tight.

She felt the person protecting her shudder with a muffled groan.

Petty’s shock turned into confusion, then horror as her hand brushed against warm, sticky blood. Her face drained of color, going stiff with fear.

“Hans…”