He Thought I Loved Him, I Only Loved His Face Chapter 17

He Thought I Loved Him, I Only Loved His Face Chapter 17

Rowan shouted and sprinted after her.

But the faster he ran, the faster the figure receded.

He chased all the way to the end of the alley. Empty.

His eyes rimmed red.

Rowan finally admitted it to himself.

He loved her.

Without question.

He woke up in a hospital bed.

Friends hovered. His mother looked at him with worry.

His father stood at the side, face black with fury. Seeing Rowan awake, he didn’t bother hiding his disgust.

“A grown man, running himself into the ground. Do you have any self-respect left?”

“If you’re going to keep acting like this—half-dead over a woman—don’t bother coming back to the Cross family. I’ll pretend I never had such a worthless son.”

After a long silence, Rowan spoke.

“I’ve thought it through. I’m going to find Maya.”

His father shook with rage.

“You are the sole heir to the Cross family now. The entire group’s future rests on your shoulders. And you’re drowning in this romantic nonsense? What kind of man are you?”

“If you go through with this, you’re no longer my son.”

His father stormed out.

His mother hurried after him.

Rowan stared at the ceiling. He said nothing.

One of his friends handed him a phone.

“Rowan. That thing you asked us to look into. We found something.”

Rowan took the phone. Forwarded chat logs.

All from Piper to Maya.

He saw Maya’s familiar profile icon. Cold sweat broke out across his body.

He steeled himself before tapping to open them.

Photos. Videos. Him cooking for Piper. Spending time with her.

Laced between them, line after line of taunts.

[Maya, you schemed your way into marrying Rowan. So what? His heart still belongs to me.]

[Still waiting for him to come home tonight? How does it feel, sitting in that empty house?]

[Maybe you should get on your knees and beg me. I might consider telling Rowan to go home tonight. But he’s so disgusted by you. He probably won’t agree.]

From June to November. Nearly every single day.

Blinding rage swallowed Rowan whole.

His friend’s voice dropped lower.

“There’s more. We looked into Piper’s time in London. You need to see this.”

Rowan’s eyes dropped to the screen.

Videos. Piper. Different men. Her face unmistakable.

Scenes shifted. In a car. By a pool. In a hotel suite.

Rowan’s grip on the phone turned his knuckles white.

He hurled it against the floor.

One thought consumed him.

Piper was going to pay.