"Keira, you're really clingy with Hayden," Yuna teased, giving me a playful smirk. I felt a little awkward, but then she added, "But I really like it.""You little brat," I shot back, pretending to glare at her. She just giggled.I stepped out of her hospital room and glanced down the hall. Empty. Hayden must've found somewhere quieter to take his call. After a second, I headed toward the stairwell.As I got closer, I heard Hayden's voice."...The shop's gone, but the mechanics should still be around. Track them down... Yes, it's necessary. I need to give Keira an answer, and clear my dad's name."When I heard that, my chest tightened.I'd been debating whether to reopen the investigation into the brake failure that caused the accident. I hadn't told Hayden, but it seemed like he'd already started digging into it.His call ended, but before I could step forward, his phone rang again. I paused.The stairwell door was cracked open, and through it, I saw Hayden holding a cigarette
My heart dropped. "Did something go wrong with the tests?"Lena shook her head, her hands tucked into her white coat pockets. "No, it's the donor—there's an issue on their side."I frowned. "What?""The donor's a brain-dead patient. The family had agreed to donate, but now they've changed their minds."I got it. The donor was a match. If they backed out, Yuna would have to wait. Again.And who knew how long?"Do we know why?" I asked.Lena pursed her lips. "No clue. The details are confidential. We just got the notice."I thought about Yuna, how excited she'd been. This would crush her."So, Nate called Hayden away for this?""Probably," Lena said, giving me a light nudge. "Don't worry. Nate will figure something out. But for now, the transplant's on hold.""Yeah, well, if she can't stay in the hospital for surgery, maybe we could, like, discharge her and take her out for a bit," I said."Your future sister-in-law, your call," Lena teased.I nudged her back. "Speaking of,
My period had just started."Wait up!" I called after Lena, jogging to catch up. "You totally jinxed me—now my period's here. Can I borrow some of your stuff?"Lena didn't miss a beat, pulling the key to the break room out of her pocket and handing it to me. "Help yourself."We got into the elevator, heading to her department, but before we even arrived, shouting echoed down the hall."You shameless bitch! You married my son, and now you're running around with another man. You killed my son! And now you're pregnant with some bastard child and have the audacity to claim it's ours? You think we're stupid? You just want Desmond's compensation money!"...Lena rushed ahead, but I froze in place for a second. That voice... Why did it sound so familiar?I really needed to grab some pads and get to the restroom, but my curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself drawn toward the noise instead."This baby is Desmond's. Once it's born, we can do a paternity test and prove it," I he
If Mrs. Blake actually rammed into Tanya like that, the baby would be gone for sure.Even though she refused to believe it, Jace had already made it clear the baby wasn't his—it was Desmond's. If something happened to that baby, their family line would end for good.My heart skipped a beat, and before I even realized it, I was sprinting forward.Lena, who was closest to Mrs. Blake, moved fast too, grabbing hold of her just in time. "Mrs. Blake, you cannot do this."Tanya, who'd been silent until now, suddenly snapped. "Let her hit me! This is her own grandchild. If she kills it, her family line's gone for good.""You still claim that child's ours?" Mrs. Blake was wild with rage, her eyes blazing. "I'll beat it out of you right now and prove if it's really my grandchild.""Fine! Let's settle it right here!" Tanya shot back, just as furious.I didn't want to jump into this mess, but the baby was innocent—and it was Desmond's last link to this world.I took a deep breath and storm
Seeing Tanya refuse to accept reality, I couldn't help but sneer. "You don't believe me? Fine. How about this—I've known Jace for over ten years. We practically grew up together. I probably even know his bathroom schedule."I borrowed a line Steve used to tease me and Jace.Tanya's face paled, her body swaying like she might lose her balance. She shook her head, like if she just denied it enough, it wouldn't be true. "No, that's not possible. It's not like that.""Don't believe me? Go ahead, try it for yourself," I said, my voice cold and cutting.She didn't respond. She just stood there, staring at me, frozen in place. Then, without another word, she turned and stumbled away, her steps shaky as she walked off.I watched her retreat, but something about her erratic behavior stayed with me. After a few seconds of hesitation, I pulled out my phone and dialed Jace.I almost forgot he'd been dodging everyone's calls, going MIA."Rea," Jace's voice came through the line.He actually
I couldn't believe it—I was actually having a nosebleed. Seriously, who does that?I'd only seen it happen in movies or cartoons, always thinking it was some over-the-top gag. Never thought it'd be me standing there, blood running down my face like a total weirdo."Kiki, you're bleeding!" Hayden's eyes went wide as he reached for my face.But nope, I beat him to it. Pinched my nose, head back. "I'm fine, just... overheated." I tried to sound cool, but I could feel my cheeks burning. So much for that."Not enough water?" he asked, his voice full of concern."Yeah... sure." Dehydration sounded way better than admitting the real reason.He fished some tissues out of his pocket and handed them over. "You've been running around too much. I should've noticed you weren't drinking enough water."Ugh, there he goes again—blaming himself.To be fair, maybe he should have noticed. Not that dehydration caused this whole thing, but still... it was definitely his fault.Once the bleeding st
"This is good," I said, feeling grateful toward Nate—I hadn't expected him to be so all-in.Considering his status as a professor, just having him personally perform the surgery was a huge deal. But now, he was also fully focused on finding the right heart donor.I knew this extra effort had everything to do with Lena."Any word on when the new donor heart will arrive?" I asked again.Hayden dropped his gaze. "Still no idea."I glanced down the cold, sterile hospital corridor. "So, what's Prof. Neumann suggesting? Should we stick around or go home and rest?""Let's head back for now," Hayden said, his voice soft. "Yuna's barely left home because of her health. She's never even been to Seavora. I was thinking I'd take her out, let her see the city for a bit."That made sense. Yuna hadn't experienced much beyond her little world. She hadn't even tried coffee or milk tea before. Everything she knew about the outside came from books, but she'd never actually lived it."Yeah, I thin
I eventually found myself in front of Matthew's hospital room. Standing outside were two men in black suits, one of whom looked familiar.It hit me—he was one of Thorsten's bodyguards.Thorsten wasn't even trying to keep a low profile. It's like he didn't care if people thought he was straight-up mafia or something.Since he was already there, I wasn't about to just waltz in. But going back to Yuna's room wasn't happening either, so I wandered over to the hospital's little garden.I barely sat down on a bench when this tiny voice piped up, "Miss, will you play ball with me?"I looked down to see a little girl, maybe three or four, staring at me with these big, puppy-dog eyes. Ugh. I wasn't really in the mood, but how was I supposed to say no?"Sure," I said, figuring it'd be five minutes, tops. But once we started, I got all these flashbacks of playing ball with my parents when I was a kid."Miss, you're kinda clumsy."Oops, you missed again."Miss..."I was not only stuck pl