Hailey’s POV
I didn’t go far. I told myself I did. I told myself I was strong enough to vanish into my work, to become a version of Hailey who didn’t need Roy Adler’s attention like oxygen.
But heartbreak didn’t care about pride. It didn’t care about promises. It didn’t care that I’d walked out with my head held high. The truth was, I missed him—though I hated myself for it.
Not the hockey star. Not the man on billboards. Not the Roy the world cheered for.
I missed the Roy I married. The Roy who used to look at me like I was his entire world, like my happiness mattered more than trophies.
So when he showed up at my studio two weeks later, I wasn’t prepared.
I was sketching in silence, hair in a messy knot, eyes heavy from nights I barely slept. The assistants had gone home. The build
