He Paid for the Wrong Heart Chapter 01

He Paid for the Wrong Heart Chapter 01

Hayes Whitlock fell in love with my roommate at first sight.

He snapped a photo of her and dropped it into Ashford State University’s infamous private trust-fund group chat.

Hayes: [Does anyone know this girl? $15,000 for her Instagram handle.]

Someone replied almost immediately.

Someone replied: [I do.]

Except that person sent him the wrong one.

He sent him mine.

Hayes and I spent an entire winter break in an online relationship.

It wasn’t until the new semester started and he finally saw me in person that he realized what had happened.

After thinking it over for a long time, he offered what he seemed to consider a fair compromise.

“We break up,” he said, “and you help me get Serena Shaw. Once it works out, I’ll give you a blank check. Fill in whatever amount you want. Do we have a deal?””

…

Hayes sounded sincere.

We went to the same university, but this was the first time he had ever really seen me.

I, on the other hand, had secretly looked at him hundreds of times.

In my memory, he had always looked careless and untouchable, like nothing in the world was worth his attention.

But now, for Serena, he was being generous enough to hand over a blank check.

He said to me, “Don’t worry. When I get back, I’ll deal with Nolan Voss.”

I had heard of Nolan.

He was one of the school’s most notorious trust-fund heirs.

He was also the one who had given my contact to Hayes.

I curled my fingers tightly against my palm , forcing myself to stay calm.

“It’s fine.”

“I’ll do it.”

There was nothing to hesitate over.

I did like Hayes.

But at the same time, I desperately needed money.

I just never imagined that my first relationship would end in something this humiliating.

A gust of cold wind swept over, and I instinctively adjusted the scarf around my neck. Hayes glanced sideways at me, his eyes dark and unreadable before letting out a soft sigh.

“I’m sorry.”

All at once, I remembered the day he followed me on Instagram. It had been snowing that day too, and I had just gotten home from the train station, standing in the wind and snow as I read that request over and over again.

We had gone to the same high school, and long before that day, I had memorized his profile picture and username.

Now we were juniors in college.

Six whole years had passed between us.

My hands were trembling when I accepted Hayes’s request.

His message came through a second later.

Hayes: [Hi, I’m Hayes. I saw you this afternoon, and I wanted to get to know you.]

That moment had been the happiest moment of my life.

Only now did I understand that from beginning to end, it had all been nothing but a beautiful illusion.