Chapter 619

Vincent's chest had heaved, his breath heavy, his eyes locked on Hannah in silence.

Hannah had lost all patience with the waiting game. Bracing herself, she surged forward, shoving him down onto the bench behind him. "I'm done playing it safe, Vincent. I can't keep this bottled up anymore!"

Her bold move had shattered Vincent's restraint like glass. In a flash, he flipped the script, pinning her beneath him, his stare so fierce thatit could burn holes through her soul. "Hannah, you asked for this!"

And so, in that cramped changing room, without any defined relationship between them, Hannah and the man she'd always ached for, Vincent, had crossed a line they couldn't uncross.

That first time had been a wild, messy dance of youth-clumsy, impulsive, and ravenous.

Vincent had seemed innately skilled in this field, unrestrained, his desire raw and fierce.

They had been tangled up from the afternoon clear into the dead of night.

When Hannah finally stumbled out, her legs had been jelly, barely holding her up.

But the next day, when she tracked him down, the man who'd been all fire and heavy breaths the night before had gone. He was back to being Vincent, cold as ice.

Before she could get a word out, he'd pulled a check from his pocket, already filled out, and handed it to her. His voice was flat, like he was closing a deal. "Take this for last night."

Hannah had felt like she'd been doused with a bucket of cold water, chills running from head to toe. She grabbed the check and ripped it to shreds right in his face. "Vincent, we're grown-ups. We both wanted it.What? Did you take it seriously? You really think I need your money?" Her tone was deliberately casual.

Vincent had just stared at her, his eyes cóld as steel, not a flicker of feeling or explanation.

After that, Hannah had kept her distance, steering clear of him for a long stretch.

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Hannah snapped out of her memories, her eyes locking back onto Vincent. His face was a mirror of that day after their first night together, when he'd handed her the check-distant, untouchable.

She looked at him and flashed a sudden grin. "Vincent, she's not as pretty as me."

Vincent's brow creased, thrown off by her words.

Hannah didn't let up, backing him up against the sink. "Mr. Jones, your taste in dates has taken a nosedive,hasn't it? Why not find someone better?"

It hit Vincent then-she thought he'd been on a date. Truth was, it was just a big-shot client, all business,no pleasure.But he wasn't about to clear the air. He sidestepped,ready to make his exit.

Hannah was quicker, darting to shut the men's room door from the inside. She stood firm, her back against the door, blocking his way out. "What, you can't stand a second alone with me now?"

Vincent's patience thinned, his voice sharp as a blade. "Can't you tell this is hardly the place for a private conversation? We're divorced, Hannah. This cingy act? It's desperate, and I find it utterly distasteful."

Hannah shot back, meeting his glare head-on,"I've pegged you as just as insufferable since you lost your memory."

"Feeling's mutual." Vincent wasn't in the mood to spar, trying again to push past her.

Hannah held her ground, keeping the door blocked, her voice abruptly softening like a breeze after a storm."I'm not trying to pull anything, Vincent. This isn't like the men's locker room back in college... I'm not going to do anything to you. Why are you bolting like I'm chasing you with a stick?"

Vincent froze at the mention of the locker room. What did she mean? Had something happened between them there?

Hannah caught the blank confusion in his eyes, and it stabbed at her heart like a splinter. Swallowing the flood of feelings, she got to the point. "Vincent, all I'm asking is for you to hit pause on dating for a bit."

She continued, "Just give me two weeks. If you still feel nothing for me and still can't stand the sight of me then, I swear, I'll vanish from your life for good. Gone, like I was never here.I mean it."

Vincent's face didn't soften one bit, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Who I date is my call, my right. You don't get to sway my decision."

Seeing him so firm, Hannah's frustration boiled over, her fist lightly punching his arm. "You can't grant me this one small favor? Not even for what we had-sleeping together and almost having a kid?"

"No." Vincent's tone left no room for negotiation.

Hannah's last spark of hope flickered out, her heart a tangled mess of hurt and anger. Without thinking,she kicked his shin. "Vincent, you're a complete jackass!"

Vincent flinched, pain flashing across his face, his eyes narrowing with irritation. "Stop being irrational."

He shoved her hand off the door, yanking the door open, and walking out without a backward glance.

Hannah reached for him, her fingers only grazing the edge of his jacket.

Watching his figure disappear down the hall, a bitter wave crashed over her, swallowing her heart whole. He didn't care about her anymore-not a shred of feeling left. All that love, the passion, the highs and lows-it was like they'd never happened. He really was a complete jackass.