I Forgot I Ever Loved You (Zoe and Hayden) novel Chapter 307

Ethan stalked off, still sneering at Zoe's supposed manipulation. Garrett frowned. "You really pissed him off, didn't you? Nothing he's saying makes any sense."

He sounded unhinged. Who was playing make-believe?

Zoe let out a soft laugh. "Just ignore him."

It was just Ethan's bruised ego acting up.

Every titan in the city was fighting for Sterling Group's contract. Ethan probably assumed that between his corporate clout and his personal history with Zoe, it was an automatic win.

Garrett was just worried that Ethan might leverage his ties to Hayden to cause trouble for her.

"I'll smooth it over with him when I get a chance. His tech division was completely unequipped for the scale of this launch. He shouldn't be blaming you."

Zoe gave a dismissive smile, and they dropped the subject. They had far too many high-profile guests to entertain.

Inside, Sienna, Hayden, Quentin, Ethan, and Ian shared a VIP table with a few other socialites.

Arthur Sr. and Garrett's parents were dressed in breathtaking couture.

But Zoe and Garrett were the undisputed center of attention.

Zoe wore a striking crimson gown that draped over her stunning curves. Ever since her supposed amnesia, Hayden hadn't seen her in anything remotely form-fitting.

Tonight, her silhouette was an intoxicating hourglass, her waist-to-hip ratio so devastatingly perfect that men physically couldn't pull their eyes away.

Hayden had been married to her for five years. No one intimately knew the geography of her body better than he did.

And yet, she looked different. Fuller.

It wasn't weight gain. Her proportions had ripened, radiating a deeply seductive, mature allure. She was so intoxicatingly beautiful that a single glance sent searing flashbacks of their raw, breathless nights together crashing through his mind.

The visceral reaction hit Hayden like a physical blow, turning his expression thunderous.

The woman who belonged to him was standing at the side of another man, and he didn't even have the right to claim her.

Keeping their marriage a dead secret was the ironclad rule he himself had enforced.

To the rest of the world, Hayden Thorne had absolutely zero ties to Zoe Lynd.

Ethan let out a harsh scoff. "I doubt it. But I'll admit, Zoe is terrifyingly resourceful. Manipulating the Kendalls into backing her? That takes a special kind of cunning. Maybe we've underestimated her all these years. Maybe she's a master strategist."

Ian kicked Ethan violently under the table, shooting him a warning look to shut up.

Ian used to believe Hayden felt absolutely nothing for Zoe.

But for the past thirty minutes, Hayden's eyes had been glued to Zoe and Garrett. He hadn't looked away once.

Had they been entirely wrong this whole time?

"Well, she did manage to snare Hayden five years ago. Her tricks speak for themselves," Sienna added smoothly.

Ignoring Ian's warning, Ethan plowed ahead. "You all know about Sterling Group's AI project, right? I went to pitch her today. Given our history, I figured it was a lock. Do you know what she told me?"

Surrounded by his inner circle, Ethan dropped his pride, complaining directly to Hayden like he was demanding retribution.

"She flat-out rejected Montgomery Enterprises. She's just parading around using Garrett's power to stroke her ego. She didn't do a damn thing when she was at Easton Group, yet Garrett treats her like some industry oracle. He literally bends to her every word. It's a complete joke."

Ethan's face was twisted in unfiltered, absolute resentment.