All Chapters of Mr. Hayes’ Secret Heir: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The second I got to my room, I locked the door immediately.Nothing was dragging me out of here until very late at night when everybody was asleep. Especially Mason.I grabbed the novel I’d been reading and forced myself into it, trying very hard not to think and just get lost in the pages.A knock suddenly sounded on my door, pulling me out of the book instantly.I shut my eyes.“Please let it be Lior,” I muttered under my breath. “God, not Mason.”I got up reluctantly and opened the door only to freeze in surprise.Chase stood there smiling.“Oh.”“Disappointed?” he asked immediately.“No.”“Are you sure about that?” He narrowed his eyes.I nodded.“So, since my brother refuses to tell me what exactly you two are pretending never happened, I figured I should ask you instead.”“There’s nothing to tell,” I replied quickly.“Mhm. At least I tried.” He shrugged. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. Get dressed. I’m taking you and my nephew out.”I blinked in surprise. “What?”“I’m bonding

I left the house ridiculously early the next morning. Partly because I was still avoiding Mason. But mostly because I was avoiding Chase and whatever chaos he planned to bring into my life next.That man had the energy of someone who treated causing trouble like a full-time hobby.By the time I parked outside work and stepped out of my car, I saw my parents rushing toward me.“What are you doing here?”Mom reached me first.“Mia, please…” Her voice shook badly. “We’re sorry. I know I’ve been a terrible mother, but you’re still our daughter. Please forgive us. We are—”“No,” I cut in. “Before you continue, let’s correct something first. You disowned me, remember? So don’t stand here calling me your daughter now.”Dad stepped forward quickly. “Mia please,” he begged. “What we did was wrong. I don’t know what came over me.”Then shockingly, he started slapping himself. “I’ve been a terrible father. Please forgive me.”I looked around immediately in irritation. People were already startin

Near the end of my shift, Chase texted me saying he, Mason, and Lior were heading to an event later that evening and he wanted me to come with them.I lied and told him I already had plans with a friend before asking if I could see Lior’s outfit before they left.A few seconds later, he sent a picture of Lior and Mason already dressed for the event, both of them wearing matching black tuxedos.I laughed quietly while staring at the picture.Lior looked so cute beside Mason, who apparently got a fresh haircut and somehow looked even more annoyingly handsome than usual.I texted back that my boy looked handsome.Chase replied by correcting me that I meant to say my boys.I told him he had already stressed me enough for one day, but he only responded asking me to swear I didn’t just admire Mason too. I ignored him and slipped my phone back into my bag.What Chase didn’t know was that I had no intention of going anywhere that night. I only wanted to make sure they had already left before

MasonStaying away from Mia had seemed like the smarter decision at first. Necessary even.After that night in her room, keeping some distance felt safer than being too close to a woman who still affected my self-control this badly after all these years.Until the plan started backfiring after a week of not seeing her. It was beginning to affect my concentration in ways I hadn’t expected. Meetings dragged longer. Patience wore thinner. Even work stopped holding my attention the way it normally did.I finally decided to go home early for one reason only. Mia.But the moment I walked into the living room and saw her laughing while fighting Chase over a pizza box, a sharp wave of jealousy hit me unexpectedly.That version of Mia used to exist around me too. She used to laugh freely with me, talk without holding herself back, and seeing me used to change her entire mood.Back then, being around Mia was loud in the best way. She talked endlessly without filtering herself first, jumping bet

MiaKissing Mason last night had been reckless enough, but I didn’t want to start avoiding him afterward and create that awkward tension again.Neither did I want Mason disappearing for another couple of days because of what happened.So there I was the next morning standing outside his bedroom with a cup of coffee in my hand rehearsing what to say before finally knocking softly.He opened the door a minute later and looked just as surprised to see me as he did last night.His hair looked messy like he had run his hand through it recently, and the fitted white shirt stretching over his chest and arms was doing absolutely nothing good for my self-control.I quickly held the coffee toward him before my thoughts got worse. “Good luck with the speech today.”A small smile tugged at his lips as he accepted it. “Thank you.”His deep morning voice did something dangerous to my body. “Get a grip,” I muttered under my breath.“What was that?” he asked.“Nothing.” I cleared my throat quickly. “