“Chase, we’re taking Alex to the hospital. Be good and wait at home.” “No! I want to go with him.” Before Helen could respond, Alex, who had only been whining about his stomach pain moments ago, suddenly started thrashing. “I want Chase to come with me! We were born together, so we have to see the doctor together too!” Helen rubbed her temples. The noise was giving her a headache. She looked over at Evelyn, silently asking for permission. Evelyn nodded. “Fine, go together. Just make sure you come back after.” “Okay.” Chase agreed immediately. With that, the four of them headed to the car. *Zac carried Alex through Lichfield hospital at a brisk pace, heading straight for the pediatrics department. Helen and Chase followed closely behind. Suddenly, Alex lifted his head from Zac’s shoulder and said, “Uncle Zac, I want a lollipop. Can you buy me one?” Before Zac could answer, Helen snapped. “Are you serious? You’re crying like you’re on the verge of death
The doctor had seen this type of situation before—kids faking a stomachache to avoid school. Normally, he would expose them on the spot. But this wasn’t just any kid. This kid had connections to the hospital director. Should he call it out? Or just go along with it? Judging by the director’s background in medicine, he had probably already figured it out. Just as the doctor was about to speak, Zac gave him a subtle shake of the head. The doctor kept a straight face. “His stomach is a little sensitive. Just be mindful of his diet going forward.” Then, he scribbled a few lines on the medical record and handed it over. “Here’s the prescription.” Helen took the paper, frowning at the barely legible handwriting. “Doctor, are you sure it’s just a stomach issue? Shouldn’t we run more tests, maybe an X-ray?” She had been genuinely scared. The doctor shook his head. “No need. He’s healthy.” Zac glanced down at the prescription. It was just some basic children’s d
“Chase, did you get the candy?” Alex asked, his eyes filled with anticipation. “Got it.” Chase replied smoothly, mission accomplished. He reached into his pocket and handed Alex a lollipop. “Here.” Alex took it, and in that moment, the silent exchange between them spoke volumes. They both knew everything had gone exactly as planned. With the hospital visit done, Helen took the boys home. At the parking lot, Zac handed her his car keys. “Take my car home.” Helen shook her head. “No need. I left my car here yesterday, so I’ll just drive that back.” “Alright, just call me when you get home.” “Got it.” She drove off, and only when her car disappeared from sight did Zac turn and head back toward the hospital. But something kept nagging at him. Where exactly did Chase go earlier? Curiosity got the best of him. Instead of heading back to his office, he went straight to the security room to check the surveillance footage. On the screen, Chase was seen buy
Justin didn’t hesitate.Without a second thought, he immediately sent the money to Zac.Zac chuckled at the transfer and forwarded the DNA test results.Although aliases were used in the report, the security footage was enough to confirm that Chase had hired the middle-aged man on the spot.As for Justin’s DNA sample?Chase didn’t even need to collect one—the hospital already had it.Justin had his annual physicals done at Lichfield Hospital every year.Comparing the samples was quick and easy. Zac sent another message: “By the way, do you want to run another test under your name? Just to make it official?” Justin was too focused on reading the report and watching the security footage to notice the new message right away. His sons… His brilliant, fearless, and incredibly sharp sons. By the time he finished going through every detail, his eyes were filled with tears. Chase and Alex were undoubtedly his biological children. Not Wilfred’s. Not Sean’s. The
As Zac stepped into the hospital room, a doctor was just walking out. “Doctor, how is my friend? What’s his condition?” Zac asked urgently, his concern evident. Helen, on the other hand, wasn’t worried about Justin’s life or death. She had only followed Zac here because she didn’t want him driving in the rain alone. Standing by the hospital room door, she peeked inside to check the situation. Justin lay motionless on the bed, his face pale, his head wrapped in thick gauze, looking half-dead. Helen’s fingers tightened around her phone. Should she tell her sister? A battle waged in her mind—one side urging her to tell, the other insisting she stay silent.She furrowed her brows, debating for a long time before finally stepping away and dialing Haley’s number from a quieter spot down the hall. *Meanwhile, the doctor was giving Zac an update on Justin’s condition. “The patient suffered a head injury during the crash, resulting in a mild traumatic brain inju
Zac glanced at Justin, still unconscious on the hospital bed, then shifted his gaze to William, who stood beside him, completely unscathed. William gave a small nod, then silently stepped out to stand guard, shutting the hospital room door behind him. Zac let out a dramatic sigh. “It’s pretty serious—‘severe’ concussion. Even if he wakes up, who knows how long it’ll take for him to fully recover? His brain might never be the same again.” He tapped his temple for emphasis, making it sound much worse than it actually was. Helen had just stepped out. Who else could she have called? Besides Haley, there was no one else. She pressed her lips together, tightening her grip on her phone. Her gaze kept flickering toward Justin, sneaking quick glances before she finally turned her back on them. Unlocking her phone, she quickly typed out a message and hit send. Zac only took a brief glance at her actions—then, just as quickly, looked away, pretending not to care. *The
“Ugh… my head hurts.”Justin clutched his forehead, wincing in pain.Zac, who had been dozing off at the edge of the hospital bed, was startled awake by his movement. He hadn’t dared to sleep too deeply, worried that Justin might need something in the middle of the night.“You’re awake. Why are you getting out of bed? Get back in! A concussion is no joke,” Zac scolded, quickly pushing him back down.“A concussion?” No wonder his head was throbbing.Justin looked around, finally realizing that he was in a hospital. “Where’s Haley? I need to go find her.”Haley. Again with Haley. She was the only person he ever thought about.“Do you even realize you were in a car accident? The ambulance brought you to a public hospital. You’re not at my hospital, and Haley isn’t here either!” Zac held onto Justin’s arm, careful not to shake him, his gaze serious.A public hospital? Haley wasn’t here? He was in a car accident?As if triggered by the thought, the pain in his injured head wors
“The hospital is overcrowded right now, and there aren’t any extra rooms available. I had no choice but to put him in here with you. Besides, you two know each other, so you can look after one another,” Zac explained matter-of-factly.“Look after?” Haley pointed at herself, then at Justin. “You expect one patient to take care of another patient?”Zac nodded. “You hurt your foot. He hurt his head. No problem.”Haley was so frustrated she was at a loss for words.“Fine, then. My foot’s almost healed anyway. Recovering at home is the same as recovering in the hospital. I’ll discharge myself and leave the room for him.” She pointed at Justin, then swung her legs over the bed, hobbling toward the floor.Unfortunately, Justin’s hospital bed was blocking her way. Worse, her slippers had somehow ended up under his bed.With this route cut off, she turned around and tried to get off from the other side. Even if she had to walk barefoot, she was leaving.Seeing her about to leave, Justin
Haley shook her head quickly, flustered. “No… I mean—no.” Then she realized how that sounded and corrected herself. “Actually, yes. I’m just hot.”Helen blinked in confusion. “Hot? The classroom has air conditioning. Was the sunlight from the window hitting her seat?” Helen wondered.Without missing a beat, she rushed over and tugged the curtains tighter, making sure her bestie didn’t get “sunburned.” She still needed Haley to hold onto that top spot. Otherwise, she would lose her excuse at home for going out to “study” with Zac.The pressure and tension of senior year finally came to a close. On the day of the college entrance exam, when everyone stepped out of the test hall for the last time, their faces lit up with genuine smiles—relaxed, free, and full of relief.Haley tossed aside her textbooks. Her summer break was filled with makeup shopping trips with Helen or third-wheeling her and Zac on their study-dates-turned-real-dates.That routine came to an end the d
Haley’s eyes shifted as she thought quickly. “But… I don’t really like guys who rank higher than me on exams.”She gave a light shrug and continued, “I mean, I think we should be focusing on school right now. Relationships can wait until after we get into college, right? What if we don’t even end up at the same school? Long-distance never works, and after a while, we’d probably drift apart. Don’t you think?”Was that a gentle rejection? It seemed like it. Haley wondered if she had been too blunt. Had she left him any dignity at all?They still had a whole year of high school left together. She didn’t want things to get awkward between them. A harsh rejection would only make everything more uncomfortable.Justin furrowed his brows, thinking for a long moment before giving a single reply. “Okay.”Then he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked off.Haley stood there, completely confused.“Okay? What did he mean by that?“Did he understand what I was trying to say?
Emma and her little clique of schoolyard mean girls had Justin completely surrounded.“I’ll ask you one more time,” she said, smug and unbothered. “Will you be my boyfriend or not?”“No,” Justin replied coldly, his face unreadable.“Hey!” one of Emma’s loyal followers stepped forward, cracking her knuckles and getting way too close. “Do you even know who our Emma is? She’s the heiress of the Xander Corporation. She’s giving you a chance, and you should be grateful. You better say yes.”“What, you want us to beat you up before you agree?” another girl sneered.Justin didn’t flinch. His icy stare locked onto the girl who spoke, completely unbothered by the threat.Emma waved a hand to hold her crew back, pretending to be generous. Then she turned to Justin again, cocky and bold.“I like you way too much to have anyone rough you up,” she said sweetly. “But I heard you’re trying to get into Altiplano University in the capital. Here’s the deal—if you go out with me, I’ll have my dad
As soon as Justin sat down and pulled out the textbook for the next class, a hand suddenly reached out from beside him.“Hey, I’m Zac White,” Zac said.Justin glanced up with a cold look, then went right back to pulling out his notebook and pen—completely ignoring the extended hand.Zac awkwardly pulled his hand back, speechless.“Man… this guy’s seriously cold. What a show-off,” he thought to himself.The class flew by. When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, Haley and Helen linked arms and headed off toward the bathroom. Zac immediately trailed after them.“Where are you two going? Take me with you.”“You planning on going into the girls’ bathroom, you perv?” Helen smacked his hand away, not wanting their classmates—or worse, their teacher—to get any ideas about the two of them dating.Zac scratched his nose. “Fine, I won’t go in the girls’ room… but I can go to the guys’ one, can’t I?”“Hmph!” Helen huffed, scrunching her nose playfully.Zac clutched his chest
At a top-ranked high school in Lincourt City, the bell rang.Students still lingering in the hallways or restrooms were urged to hurry back to class.Outside, the summer heat simmered, accompanied by the steady buzz of cicadas. Inside, the air-conditioned classrooms offered a much more comfortable escape.In Class 2–1 of the junior year, students hurried back to their seats. Just as the final chime faded, the homeroom teacher walked in, holding a stack of freshly graded exam papers.“For this round of mock exams,” she announced, loud and clear, “the top score in the entire grade once again goes to our very own Haley!”A wave of murmurs and applause followed. “Let’s all work hard and try to catch up to her next time!”She began handing out the papers in order, from the highest score to the lowest.After Haley got her paper, the next few went to her seatmate, Helen, and the student sitting behind them—Zac.“Work hard and catch up?” Helen muttered as she slid back into her seat, s
But what did it matter, even if she still loved him? The pain he caused her in the past was still there, lingering beneath the surface.They had loved, they had hurt, they had been entangled for years. But not every love story had to end with forgiveness and reconciliation.Haley couldn’t pretend the past hadn’t happened. She couldn’t smile and pick up where they left off, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.She would always remember that street in Merika State, when Justin turned away, picked Emma up in his arms, and left her standing there alone.Even if he had mistaken someone else for her, the pain he caused and the love he failed to give were real.And that wasn’t something she could ever forget.She could make peace with the past, but she could never erase it.Her heart ached, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she turned and walked away.*Years later, Haley passed away peacefully in her bedroom at the estate.That same day, Justin had gone out to the grocer
It was just a shame that life rarely worked out the way people wanted it to.*Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.Chase and Alex had grown taller and older. Haley’s once-small jewelry brand had not only found its place in the industry—it had grown into a globally recognized luxury label, known for bespoke, high-end pieces.As for Justin, he split his time between Haven State and Merika State. Whenever he wasn’t busy, he would shamelessly camp out at the estate, claiming he was just there to “see the kids.”Eventually, no one even bothered to call him out on it anymore.One day, Haley had a business meeting with a potential partner—a widowed single father. Somehow, Justin caught wind of a rumor that the man had feelings for Haley and was actively pursuing her. Word had it that she was interested too, and they were currently having dinner together at a restaurant.The second Justin heard that, he canceled a company meeting, boarded his private jet, and flew straight to Mer
As soon as Haley stepped into the room, Justin followed right behind her.It was the first time he had ever set foot in Haley’s room—the space where she lived in Merika State.“Get out!” she snapped.“Haley, I just wanted to see you. Please don’t make me leave, okay?”His eyes scanned the room. The walls, the shelves—everything was filled with Haley’s photos. There was even a custom-built glass display case, clearly made with love, housing her pictures from childhood to adulthood. It was something Evelyn had put together just for her, and it overflowed with affection.There were portraits of her alone, family pictures, and right at the top—photos of Chase and Alex.Justin looked at each one carefully, as if he were trying to piece together a life he hadn’t been part of, but desperately wished he had been.Then his gaze landed on a particular photo: Haley in her teens, wearing a soft pink-and-white hoodie with little bunny ears on the hood. Her pale skin, big round eyes, and brig
“Haley…” Justin’s voice was weak. There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t even know where to start.“I heard you’re sick?” Haley said.“I… I’m fine. I’m not really sick, I just—”“Take care of yourself. Heart problems aren’t like other illnesses. Just look forward. Let go of the past. Meet someone new. Live your life.”Justin fell silent. His head dropped, and the phone pressed against his ear was clenched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white. He wrestled with the words for a long moment before finally managing to force out.“Okay.”But he knew. He wouldn’t meet someone new. Without Haley, what kind of life could he possibly call “living”?The call ended. Life went back to its quiet rhythm. Justin no longer clung to Haley or tried to find her. After one more day in the hospital, he threw himself back into work and took over the reins of RC Corporation.They had truly managed to part on peaceful terms.After returning to Merika State, Haley d