Chapter 19
617words
At work, Hailey didn't hold back.
She flipped through his confidential files like they were hers.
"Hey, those are off-limits! Mr. Thorne said—"
"Carey!" Someone yanked that girl aside. "Are you trying to get fired? You really wanna mess with Laurel?"
"Girl, come on," another said. "He's obsessed. Houses, cars—she gets it all. He dumped Diana, his secretary for years, just like that. Ivy League and everything. Now she's pouring lattes at some café. Laurel could set those files on fire and he'd hand her the lighter."
They kept it hushed, but Hailey heard every word.
The girl named Carey frowned. "But—"
"No buts. Meeting. Move."
They left. The files stayed.
Hailey picked them up like she owned the place, not even blinking at the security cams overhead.
As she scanned the pages, the office door slammed open.
Hailey looked up—and froze.
Vanessa.
The same woman who once sicced a dog on her.
She looked wrecked. No more designer glam—just old, beat-up clothes. Pale skin, dark circles, face hollowed out from whatever hell she'd been through.
Still, Vanessa clicked in on heels like she ran the place.
"So, you're Laurel Quinn? Nolan's new toy?"
Hailey didn't flinch. Her grip tightened on the papers, nearly ripping them.
She hadn't expected Vanessa to come to her.
Vanessa sneered. "You're not even cute."
"You think he actually likes you? Please. His real girlfriend died. You just kinda look like her. That's it. He's using you as a stand-in."
She spat the words like poison. "If you've got a brain, you'll leave. He's never gonna love her little copy."
Hailey didn't blink. Didn't move.
Just blank.
No way.
Who stays that calm after finding out they're just someone's stand-in?
Unless—
Unless Laurel didn't love Nolan at all.
Vanessa squinted, studying her like a riddle she couldn't crack.
The eyes. That was it. Those eyes felt familiar. But the rest? A total stranger.
Vanessa had never seen Hailey back in school.
So she had no clue.
What Nolan couldn't let go of... was his past with Hailey. Who he was before all the power. Before the lies. When he first came to her, still pretending to be good.
From outside, the sharp click of leather shoes echoed closer.
Hailey knew that sound by heart.
She stayed quiet, then slowly raised her hand.
Reached back, loosened her hair tie—letting her hair fall messy, like she'd been grabbed.
Vanessa blinked. "What are you doing?!"
No answer.
Right before the door opened, Hailey slapped herself.
Smack!
The sound cracked through the office.
And then the door swung open.
Vanessa froze, eyes flicking from Hailey to the man in the doorway.
Nolan.
His face was unreadable—cold, dark, terrifying.
Vanessa's voice caught in her throat. "It... it wasn't me! Nolan! She hit herself! I swear—!"
Hailey's eyes shimmered, red and glassy like she was about to break.
"I know I'm nothing. Just a stand-in. I never asked for more.
"Looking like Hailey Hart... that's already a gift. I don't blame Nolan. I don't blame anyone.
"But Ms. Decker—talking trash about someone who's gone... aren't you scared of karma?"
Nolan didn't speak.
Just stood there, ice-cold, sucking all the air out of the room.
Vanessa started trembling.
Then dropped, full-on sobbing.
He walked toward her.
She clawed at his leg, desperate. "Nolan, please! It wasn't me! You have to believe me!"
He looked down, eyes sharp and disgusted, like she was something he'd scrape off his shoe.
"Vanessa Decker. Did I—or did I not—tell you never to show your face to me again?"
She flinched.
Yeah. He had.
And it wasn't just a warning—he'd already made her pay.
