Chapter 1324: Love at first sight (?)
"I know because... someone like her—her age—sees this as a challenge. And once she gets what she wants, it’ll all fade like smoke in the air. A waste of time."
If it wasn’t Penny pulling a prank and using Grace, then this was the only explanation Haines could think of: Grace saw him as a challenge. After all, she had always sought more, pushing herself to the limits just to see how far she could go.
Now that Grace was a highly successful corporate lawyer, she was probably looking for something thrilling. Since men her age would easily fall for her beauty or wit, she had chosen someone older—someone who would hesitate to pursue a woman half his age.
And Haines just happened to be the most convenient option in her world.
"That woman..." Mildred let out a wry smile after a brief pause. "The woman who broke your heart, your trust, and everything else—she must have shattered you into a million pieces."
"This has nothing to do with her."
"It does, Haines," Mildred countered, raising her brows with a knowing look. "I’m not saying you’re wrong. Perhaps you’re right. A young, successful, and—I’m sure—beautiful woman could be with someone younger, smarter, maybe even better-looking, without a leg problem."
"But it’s the what-ifs that bother you, isn’t it?" She wiggled her brows as she picked up her tea. "What if she was being honest? What if everything she said wasn’t just a game, but a genuine show of sincerity?"
She took a sip, letting her words settle in. "You’re judging this young woman—who’s willing to add more responsibilities to her life for the next thirty days—without fairly considering her efforts. Why? Because, just like that woman from your past, you’re afraid she’ll break your heart. So you see the worst in her and the situation before anything else."
"I bet you don’t see the worst in anything else—except when it comes to matters of the heart," she added knowingly, sipping her tea after stripping Haines bare with her words.