Chapter 16
Six years later, I’d made a name for myself in jewelry design.
My pieces were featured in major fashion magazines, and now I was bringing my latest collection back to Shanghai for a charity auction.
Kate was waiting at the airport, crushing me in a bear hug the moment I cleared customs.
“You heartless deserter! Running off to Europe and forgetting your best friend exists!*
I handed her the designer bag I’d brought her. “Says the woman who crashed my Milan apartment for a month last
year.”
Over lunch at our old favorite spot, Kate finally told me about the aftermath of my departure.
Adrian had stalked her building for weeks after I left, convinced she knew where I was.
It only stopped when she got the police involved and Mrs. Chase had to intervene.
“I didn’t want to tell you back then,” Kate watched my reaction carefully. “But now that you’re back. I thought you should know. Are you… okay with hearing this?”
I continued eating my pasta, unbothered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Mentions of Adrian Chase no longer stirred anything in me.
That chapter felt like a different lifetime, a story that happened to someone else.
Kate studied my face for any sign of lingering feelings, then relaxed. “Thank god. I was worried you might get soft hearing about him. Now I can sleep at night.”
Classic Kate–she’d support me dating the entire F1 grid before letting me consider a second lap with Adrian.
That’s what best friends are for.
They’ll help you hide a body, but they’ll never let you dig up old bones.
Ex–boyfriends, especially the toxic champion ones, belong in life’s rearview mirror, permanently out of sight
15:42
Chapter 17
