86.36 % under her name , no craving for touch , nothing at all . " So you've been lying , " he said , voice rough with clarity . " I must've been out of my mind to believe something that absurd - and I used it as an excuse to hurt Lydia, over and over , in the name of paying you back . " Panic cracked Sienna's poise . Tears spilled fast . " Chase , I'm sorry ! I only lied because I liked you so much . Give me another chance- please ? " 7- " A chance ? " He laughed once , mirthless . " You cost me Lydia . And you want my forgiveness ? " Right there in the hallway he dialed again - this time the police . " I'd like to report a crime , " he said steadily . " Ongoing fraud and extortion . " When officers led Sienna away , she was still crying his name . He didn't flinch . After that , Chase moved through his days like a shadow . Women reached out and he declined them all . Weeks blurred into months ; months into years . Five years passed in a breath . He stepped into the family company and became a favorite of the press , young , brilliant , single . He buried himself in work , trying to grind the ache down to dust . But when the city went quiet , Lydia's face found him anyway . Then , one afternoon , a text from his high school class rep lit his screen . [ reunion this weekend . Heard Lydia Rivers is back in town and might show . ] Chase's grip tightened around the phone . His heart kicked hard . Five years . At last , a chance to see her again . Whatever it took , he would be there . Chapter20