Chapter 1

The waitress, Scarlett, accidentally spilled juice all over my dress at my friend's birthday party.

My husband, Hayden Robbins, who was always gentle and composed, suddenly snapped and tried to force her to apologize.

Everyone thought he was doing this for me, but I noticed his whole body was shaking.

Right in front of everyone, he walked past me and pulled Scarlett into his arms like he couldn't bear to let go.

The man everyone saw as cold, calm, and perfectly in control was trembling like a kid.

He said, "Scarlett, you have no idea how hard it's been to find you."

And that was the moment I realized that she was the woman he had loved and searched for for ten years.

*****

I brought Hayden to my best friend Esther Howell's birthday party.

The party was held at a private club, and it was packed with people, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement.

Since we were about to get married, all our friends kept saying how perfect we looked together.

We were all deep in conversation when a waitress came in carrying a tray of juice.

Just as she was setting it down, Esther shouted across the room to me. "Jocelyn, I have to be your bridesmaid at your wedding with Hayden."

As soon as she said that, Scarlett fumbled her tray, sending juice sloshing all over my dress, leaving a big stain.

"I'm so sorry," she stammered, her eyes glued to the stain, looking completely flustered.

It wasn't a big deal, and I was not the kind to get upset over something so small, so I just smiled and told her it was okay.

She set the tray down and was about to leave when Hayden suddenly stopped her. "This dress costs tens of thousands of dollars. Do you think just saying 'sorry' is enough?"

Everyone was stunned, and so was I.

Hayden normally didn't sweat the small stuff, and he had a lot of respect for workers thanks to his background.

Scarlett had her cap pulled down to hide her face, standing there awkwardly like a kid who'd just gotten caught doing something wrong.

"Hayden, it's no big deal. I can just wash the dress," I said, trying to calm him down.

I reached for Hayden's hand, only to find it shaking. It made me uneasy.

Still, I waved Scarlett off, motioning for her to leave. Then I turned to Hayden. "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Hayden didn't say a word, his eyes fixed coldly on Scarlett. "Come here and apologize. And fill our glasses with wine."

Anyone could see that Hayden was making things difficult on purpose.

Our friends just assumed he was defending me, gushing about how sweet we were together while trying to talk him down.

"Hayden, come on, don't be mad. We know you're just defending Jocelyn, but the waitress didn't mean it."

Hayden didn't move an inch. He barked, even louder, "Didn't you hear me? Apologize and pour us some wine."

His voice wavered, cracking as he spoke.

Soon, the club manager, Conor, had been called over.

Conor showed up with a smile, apologizing over and over. He popped open all the wine on the table and had someone bring over some food, hoping to smooth things over.

Hayden remained expressionless, showing no sign of softening.

Conor, thinking Hayden just wanted the waitress gone, gave her a look to tell her to leave.

To everyone's surprise, Hayden suddenly jumped up, rushed over, and pulled her into his arms. "How long are you going to keep hiding from me?"

Everyone was left speechless. In all my three years with Hayden, I'd never seen him break down like this.

"Scarlett, do you even know how hard I've been searching for you?" he choked out. He sounded angry and wronged at the same time, like a kid who didn't know what to do.

I could almost hear my heart breaking.

The supposedly unshakable big boss everyone admired could indeed lower his guard and show vulnerability, but not for me.

Scarlett tried to pull away, her voice shaky. "Sir, I think you've mistaken me for someone else."

Conor and a couple of guys hurried over, trying to intervene. "Sir, she's not Scarlett. Maybe they just look alike."

Hayden snorted and yanked up her sleeve, exposing a mole on her arm. "Mistaken? Do you think even the mole is just a coincidence?"

"Hayden, chill out. Jocelyn is still here," one of the guys said, grabbing Hayden's arm.

The others jumped in, apologizing on his behalf. "Sorry, he's drunk and got the wrong person."

Then they turned to Hayden. "Hayden, you're making Jocelyn embarrassed."

Hayden seemed to snap out of it, finally turning to look at me.

While he was distracted, Scarlett broke free and dashed out the door.

Hayden turned to look at the firmly shut door, dazed.

My mind went totally blank, and my hands and feet felt cold.

"Jocelyn, I—" Hayden stammered.

His friends said, "Hayden just got a little too drunk and started acting out. Don't mind him, Jocelyn. My bad. I kept giving him drinks. Sorry."

Everyone was scrambling to smooth things over.

Hayden walked over and tried to pull me into a hug, but I instinctively put up my hands to block him.

"Jocelyn, I'm sorry. Please, just sit down," he said.

After a while, I managed to pull myself together and awkwardly scooted to the side.

This was my friend's birthday party. I couldn't just lose it and make a scene to ruin it.

I plastered on a fake smile and kept drinking with them.

I just wanted to get drunk enough to forget everything that had happened tonight.