He Scorned Me, Now I’m a CEO He Can’t Afford Chapter 03

He Scorned Me, Now I’m a CEO He Can’t Afford Chapter 03

Lena froze, then instantly understood.

Wyatt thought she had known he would ask her to dance and had set up the bet to humiliate Clara.

“I didn’t.”

After the words left her mouth, all she felt was a profound exhaustion.

Because she knew he wouldn’t believe her.

She paused, then simply met his gaze.

“But if that’s what you want to think, then consider it my loss. I’m giving the dance back.”

Wyatt was stunned.

“What did you say?”

He remembered last summer, when she’d pestered him about the Two-Step. Her eyes had been dazzling. “Once you teach me, I can be your queen at the dance,” she’d said with a laugh.

But now, she was giving it up so easily.

For a moment, he was speechless.

But one of the girls who always trailed after Clara couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Give it back? Wyatt doesn’t want a dance you’ve already had!” she shouted, shoving Lena hard.

In the scuffle, her hand caught on the turquoise necklace around Lena’s neck.

With a sharp snap, the chain broke.

Without a second glance, the girl snatched the necklace and stalked toward the barn doors. At the entrance, she raised her hand and flung it into the livestock water trough outside.

“No!”

Lena’s expression changed in a flash.

Not because of the dance.

Not because of the gossip.

Because of the necklace.

It was the last thing her mother had left her.

Wyatt and the others were quickly drawn back to the center of the dance floor by Clara.

But Lena ran straight for the water trough.

The trough was only knee-deep, but the bottom was a thick slurry of mud and weeds, trampled for years. The smell was foul. Finding a thin silver chain in there would be next to impossible.

Lena stepped in without a second thought.

Cold, murky water flooded her boots.

She bent over, her hands sifting through the muck, searching inch by inch.

She searched from dusk until late into the night.

The dance had long since ended, and only a few scattered lights remained.

Stones at the bottom of the trough sliced her calves and arms, thin trails of blood disappearing into the muddy water, but she didn’t seem to feel it.

After a while, her back ached so badly she could barely stand. She braced her hands on her knees, gasping for breath.

Then she heard a laugh.

“Wyatt, look. I told you she was just putting on a show. Said she didn’t want your dance, but here she is, still making a scene all by herself.”

Lena’s head snapped up.

Wyatt, Clara, and their friends had returned at some point and were standing by the trough.

As if they were watching a show.

Lena ignored them and bent down again.

Just then, the girl who had thrown the necklace spoke up.

“Lena, stop looking. What you want is right here.”

Lena’s movements stilled.

She slowly raised her head and saw the girl pull a necklace from her jeans pocket and dangle it from her palm.

It was her turquoise necklace.

Perfectly intact.

As if seeing it clearly for the first time, the girl frowned in disgust.

“So dirty.”

With that, she casually tossed the necklace, along with a dead water snake she’d found somewhere, onto the muddy ground in front of Lena.

The color drained from Lena’s face.

She stumbled out of the trough, crouched down, and carefully picked up the necklace, her hands shaking as she wiped it clean.

The laughter around her grew louder.

“Look at her, taking it so seriously.”

“So what if she got one dance? She still ended up like this.”

Amid the jeers, Wyatt said nothing.

Then they left again.

Lena clutched the necklace, the cold metal digging into her palm.

At last, she understood.

The girl had never thrown the necklace into the trough.

And Wyatt had known.

But he had still stood there and watched her search in the mud for hours.

At least the necklace was safe.

And at least now, she truly expected nothing from him.

Lena didn’t return to the main house. She went to an empty bunkhouse, showered, and slept in her clothes.

The next morning, her phone buzzed incessantly.

The local cowboys’ group chat had exploded.

The messages were all about Clara getting an exchange placement at UC Davis.

Immediately after, a string of nasty comments appeared. Some suggested she wasn’t just close to Wyatt, but also had an “unusual relationship” with a professor at Davis. How else could she have gotten the spot?

The rumors grew uglier by the minute.

Until Wyatt, who rarely posted in the group, sent a single message:

[If I see anyone else spreading rumors, Rattlesnake Ranch’s lawyers will be in touch.]

The chat went silent.

Everyone knew Wyatt’s family didn’t just own land. Their lawyers didn’t make idle threats.

Lena read it all with a blank face, turned off her phone, and got up.

She was going to Austin today.

The prize money from the competition had arrived. She had a meeting with an investor scouting for sustainable agriculture projects.

The meeting went smoothly.

The investor, a man named Carter, was very interested in her plan and said he was ready to move forward with discussions.

At dusk, Mr. Carter dropped her off at the entrance to Red Creek Ranch in a new black Ford F-450.

But as soon as she stepped out of the truck, she heard a familiar voice.

“Lena?”

She turned and met the eyes of Wyatt, Clara, and their friends.

They looked like they had just come from the riding arena, their laughter dying on their lips.

Now, they were all silent.

Clara was the first to cover her mouth, her eyes instantly welling with tears. Her expression was a perfect mask of hurt.

“Lena,” she said, her voice trembling but loud enough for everyone to hear, “I know you want to prove yourself, but how could you sell yourself to a man like that just for an investment?”