Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right
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Chapter 197

But I had to replace out the truth about my dad's death.

After going back and forth in my head, I realized I didn't have much of a choice-I needed Wayne. I just had to come up with a good excuse.

While I was still mulling it over, my phone rang.

It was Lindey, and she didn't waste any time. "Jace is gonna be the death of me and Matthew! If he really goes through with dating Tanya Twain, I swear, we'll drop dead before we let that happen." I wasn't shocked by her reaction. I tried to keep my voice calm. "Lindey, seriously, you guys shouldn't let this get to you. I mean, relationships, marriage... it's not something parents can control." "Of course we can't control him! Otherwise, we wouldn't have let things with you and him get this far. But if he thinks he's bringing a pregnant widow into this family? No way in hell," Lindey snapped. Her words piled onto the pressure already crushing me, and honestly, I didn't know what to say-or if I even wanted to.

Jace and Tanya had betrayed me. Why should I be the one defending them? I'm not here to forgive them and pretend everything's fine. I wasn't about to start playing peacemaker just to make Lindey feel better. Honestly, the fact I wasn't making things worse for them was already more self-control than they deserved.

"Rea, Matthew's so upset he hasn't eaten a thing. It's like he's on some hunger strike. He'll only listen to you. Could you come over and talk some sense into him?" Lindey finally let slip the real reason she called. Fate was practically handing me a perfect opening. If I went back to the Johnston residence, I might not even need Wayne's help. I could probably get into Matthew's car myself and dig up the info I needed. I told her I'd come by, and after she ranted about Jace for a few more minutes, she hung up.

But just showing up at the Johnstons' didn't guarantee I'd get what I wanted. To make sure everything worked out, I knew I had to call Wayne, too.

"Rea," his gentle voice greeted me as usual.

"Wayne," I replied, keeping my tone respectful but distant. I had to be careful. I didn't want him getting too attached, but I also needed to use his feelings to my advantage.

I was being a total hypocrite. And I knew it.

"Your dad's losing it and won't eat. Your mom's asking me to come over, but I don't think I can handle this on my own. Can you meet me there?"

He paused for a second, then agreed.

Honestly, he didn't sound surprised at all. He probably already knew what was going on.

When I got to the Johnston residence, Wayne was already there, standing by the door like he'd been waiting for me the whole time.

"You know why my dad's upset, right? I doubt we'll change his mind," Wayne said as I walked up, hinting

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Chapter 197

that Matthew still wanted Jace and me to get back together.

I gave him a sarcastic smile but kept quiet.

Wayne didn't push it. We headed inside together, and when Lindey saw us arriving like that, she looked surprised. I acted like I didn't notice and asked, "Where's Matthew?"

"In the study. He hasn't come out all morning and isn't letting anyone in. Stayed there all night. If he hadn't yelled at a few people who tried to check on him, I'd think he was in there trying to kill himself," Lindey said, as blunt as always. "Mom, Dad's not that fragile. Don't think like that," Wayne tried to calm her down.

"I'll go up and talk to him," I offered.

Lindey gave a nod, and I headed upstairs.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock.

I knocked a few times, but nothing. My worry started creeping up, so I called out, "Matthew, it's me, Rea."

Finally, I heard footsteps, and after a moment, the door creaked open.

The sight that met me stopped me cold.

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Chapter 198