Chapter 2The Last Letter of My Heart

Mason held his breath, watching me. He had no idea if I was about to fly into one of my infamous rages.

But I simply placed the cocktails on the counter. “Your drinks are ready. Enjoy.”

Lily cupped her face in her hands, her eyes twinkling with adoration for the man across from her. “Hayden, try it. It’s the one you said you loved.”

Hayden took a sip, his fingers tracing the rim of the glass. “Bitter and sharp,” he murmured, his eyes fixed on me. “Yes, this is definitely my favorite.”

Lily looked puzzled and took a sip herself. “It’s sweet! You’re teasing me again!”

She didn’t see the way he was looking at me, his gaze dark and intense.

Suddenly, the bar door was kicked open.

“Bro! Welcome back!” A group of guys swaggered in, but their boisterous energy evaporated the moment they saw me behind the counter. Their eyes darted from me to Mason, their faces a mixture of confusion and alarm.

I brought over their drinks, but as I handed them out, they flinched back in unison, throwing their arms up as if to shield their faces. I guess my decade-long war with Hayden had included some collateral damage. I hadn't thought much of it, but clearly, they remembered.

“Mason, what the hell is going on?” one of them whispered.

Mason just shrugged.

“Enjoy your drinks,” I said coolly.

I turned to walk away, but Lily grabbed my hand. “Ma’am, could you take a picture for us?”

“No.”

I brushed off an imaginary speck of dust from my shirt. As I took a step, Hayden’s voice cut through the air from behind me.

“Everyone in business has their price. Name it.”

When I didn’t respond, he threw a wad of cash at me.

“Is that enough?”

I turned back just in time for the bundle of bills to smack me squarely in the face.

“Hayden… don’t…” Mason started.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” Lily said, rushing to my side. “My fiancé has had a little too much to drink.”

I bent down, picking up the scattered bills. “Two cocktails wouldn’t get him drunk,” I said, my voice dangerously quiet. “He has a better tolerance than that.”

From above, I heard a contemptuous snort.

“Man, look at her, still scrambling for cash,” one of his friends, Seth, sneered. “Three years and she’s still the same piece of trash.”

I suppose I’d been playing nice for too long if he thought he could get away with saying that.

I picked up the last of the ten bills, now crumpled and smeared with bar floor grime. Then, I walked calmly over to Hayden.

He held out his phone, a confident smirk on his face, as if my newfound composure amused him.

I balled up the wad of cash, pried his jaw open with my other hand, and shoved it all inside. To make sure he really got the message, I grabbed the two cocktails and poured them down his throat after it.

Then, I turned and slapped Seth hard across the face.

“Keep that mouth of yours shut,” I hissed, “or I’ll sew it shut for you.”

The bar fell silent, the only sound the drumming of the rain outside.

Only Mason seemed unfazed, leaning back and downing his drink with a heavy sigh.

“Ma’am, you can’t run a business like this!” Lily cried out, her voice trembling. “We were wrong first, but you can’t just hit people! He—”

I spun around and slapped her too.

Hayden licked his lips, a slow, cruel smile spreading across his face. “You can hit me,” he said softly. “But laying a hand on my fiancée? That crosses a line. Lily, darling, how do you want to get even?”

Lily clutched her stinging cheek, tears welling in her eyes.

Hayden’s gaze swept across my small, lovingly curated bar. “Nice place,” he said. “How about we tear it down for you, Lily?”

As she nodded, a team of his bodyguards filed in, armed with crowbars and bats.

The windows, the island bar, the overhead lights—all of it was shattered. Rain and wind whipped through the broken panes, spattering against my face.

Hayden stepped through the wreckage and gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him.

“You’re not wrong, Avery,” he whispered, his eyes greedily tracing every line of my face. “But I have to make my fiancée happy. Think about what you want for compensation. I’ll give you anything.”

I jerked my head away from him and started coughing, a wracking, uncontrollable fit. I scrambled desperately through the debris, searching for my pill bottle.

He glanced at the label with a dismissive sneer. “Six tranquilizers in one go. You’re not afraid of killing yourself?”

He picked up the bottle and casually tossed it into a growing puddle of rainwater before wrapping an arm around Lily and striding out into the night.

I collapsed next to the puddle, fished the bottle out of the murky water, and swallowed two more pills.

They weren't just for calm; they were for the pain. It had started with half a pill. Now, even eight barely took the edge off.

The bottle was almost empty. My life was being drained along with it.