Heartstrings on Fire (Agnes and Jared)
Chapter 679

"Agnes, don't give me that sass," Jared retorted, his voice a low growl. "Even if you don't tell me, I can replace out what kind of joint Eden Nights is. Do you really think it's a place for you to be?"

"If you can be here, then why can't I?" she shot back, her voice cold as ice. "If you're so eager to know why I am here, then why don't you start by telling me why you're here?"

She was lying if she claimed she didn't care. Deep down in her head, a voice was incessantly screaming, 'Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask...' but she couldn't help herself. Jared stared at her, lips firmly pressed together, silent for what seemed like an eternity.

Agnes smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "See? You can't answer that, can you? You're no saint yourself, Jared. So why are you judging me with these high and mighty standards? Besides, I'm just your ex-wife, aren't I? Even if I am a barmaid here, it's my life and my choice. It doesn't affect anyone else, let alone you."

She knew what Jared was thinking, so she voiced his suspicions. His reaction was explosive.

Was Agnes not even pretending anymore? Was she really admitting it all?

Did she just not care about how she appeared in his eyes, or how he felt?

Scowling, Jared spat out, "I don't believe you."

"You do believe it, you've always believed it," she challenged. "You just don't want to accept it. Does it hurt your pride, Jared, to think that your ex-wife is working in a place like this? Let me be, Jared. Whatever I do, whoever I meet, it's my life and my responsibility. No one gets to dictate what I should do, including you."

Agnes was angry, too. More than her anger at Jared's suspicions, she was furious with him for being here in the first place. And he wouldn't even explain why.

So, they were even.

Two people who no longer trusted each other, being friends was a long shot.

Not to mention having any lingering feelings.

Agnes knew the source of her recent agony. Even if everything from the past was a misunderstanding - even if Alyssa wasn't the one who caused her mother's death - the chasm between them, built over the past four years, would not simply disappear.

The people they'd met, the experiences they'd had, they'd formed a vast abyss between the two of them.

How could they suddenly bridge that gap and smooth the rough edges?

Agnes was torn, but seeing Jared now, she knew.

They could not return to how they once were, no matter how much they both wished they could.

She was tired of the continuous suspicion, the questioning, the bickering. If they continued like this, what would be left of them? Nothing but disappointment and exhaustion after a draining struggle. So, let the misunderstanding stand.

By cutting off her own retreat, she spared herself the agony of indecision.

She had other matters to deal with, and her situation was not going to get any easier.

Agnes certainly didn't want Jared involved in any of it.

She pushed him away. "Mr. Whitfield, it's considered bad manners to keep a lady waiting here. I suggest you go back and attend to your date before you end up on the blacklist. You wouldn't want to come back just to replace no one willing to serve you, would you?"