"Baked pears. He specially ordered them in the middle of the night," Gavin explained, placing the still-warm bag of pears. "He said your throat sounded hoarse, so he got this to help."The warmth seeped into my palms as I stared down at the bag and tea. It was such a thoughtful gesture—one that left me more confused than comforted.Gavin had already started the car. "Ms. Kay, should I take you to Emberholm?" he asked, referring to Willow Residences, where I lived.Hearing that, I suddenly realized how Jace had found me outside my place that night. Clearly, Gavin had done some digging and passed the info along."No," I said flatly.Gavin paused, his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror. "Then... where should I take you?""Pull over," I said quietly.Gavin jolted slightly at my request but obediently pulled the car to the curb. He glanced back, clearly confused. "Ms..."I cut him off. "I'm not going home. I'll head to the surgical recovery unit."For a moment, I had been so
Yuna nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling so much better now, like I'm actually healthy. I just want to live a normal life and catch up on everything I've missed."Hearing that from her was seriously heartwarming."Good, I'm all for it," I said, then added cautiously, "But are you sure you can understand all this? We could always get you a tutor if you need help.""I can!" Yuna grinned, practically glowing. "Keira, I swear, I feel like I've gotten smarter since the heart transplant. I understand everything just by looking at it."I froze for a second, caught off guard. Yuna placed her hand over her chest, her expression thoughtful. "Do you think the person who had this heart was a genius?""What? No, come on," I laughed, trying to steer her away from that thought. "Being smart comes from the brain, not the heart."Truthfully, I'd felt something strange earlier too, but I didn't want Yuna dwelling on it. The last thing she needed was unnecessary worries."You've always been smart. Hayden's
It was Jace.The second he appeared, my first thought was that something had happened to Matthew. I jumped up. "What happened to your dad?"Jace's gaze didn't shift; his eyes were locked on me. "He's fine."He held out his phone. "My mom wants to talk to you."The anxiety that had been building in my chest slowly eased. "What does she need?""It's urgent. She told me to find you and have you call her back right away," Jace said, pushing the phone closer.Just as I reached for the phone, Yuna's voice rang out behind me. "Keira, who is he?"My breath hitched. Yuna had already been suspicious that something was off between Hayden and me. And with all the romance novels she devoured, if she found out Jace was my ex, she'd definitely start jumping to conclusions."He's... my brother," I said, the word tumbling out awkwardly. The second it left my mouth, I swear the room temperature dropped.I refused to meet Jace's eyes. Instead, I forced a smile and turned to Yuna. "I'm just gonna
Lindey was on a roll now. "She's only this bold because that idiot Jace keeps protecting her. She's wading in deeper, thinking she'll get away with it. But I swear, I'll make sure she regrets it.""Lindey, let's just figure out what she said to Matthew first," I tried, hoping to calm her down."What else could it be? She wants us to accept her, to let her into this family," Lindey snapped, like Tanya had already made her plans crystal clear."She's delusional. Even if every woman on Earth disappeared and Jace stayed single forever, I'd never let her into this family," Lindey snapped, her words sharp enough to cut through steel.I knew she was just venting, too angry to hold back. So, I didn't try to reason with her. I let her get it all out.After a few more harsh words, she finally started to calm down. "Rea, just wait and see how I deal with that woman."Her words dragged up a memory from my early years with the Johnstons. Back then, Lindey and Matthew had nearly divorced. I'd
Wait—she was on the phone with Hayden? His phone was finally on?That was my first thought, but I stayed put, listening as Yuna continued."Hayden, Keira's ex was looking at her kinda weird. I'm pretty sure he still has feelings for her."Did you two have a fight or something? Keira seems... off."Why haven't you been answering? Your phone's been off, and you're not replying to messages. What's going on?""I'm telling you, if you mess this up and lose Keira, I'm not gonna forgive you."Hayden, come on, answer your messages, pick up your phone..."I couldn't help but smile at that. It was obvious now—Yuna wasn't on the phone with Hayden; she was leaving him voice messages. Still, where was he? Why wasn't he answering or calling back?Not wanting Yuna to feel awkward if she realized I'd overheard her, I made sure to open the door a little louder this time as I stepped back inside."Keira!" Yuna called out when she heard me.I walked over, noticing how she quickly tucked her pho
The answer was easy. "Nope. Not a chance."Yuna frowned. "That won't do. When Hayden gets back, I'm making him marry you right away. Once you're married, no one can steal you."Such a romantic. She didn't know there's a little thing called divorce.But I just smiled and played along. "Fine by me. I've been waiting on that proposal forever.""Really?" Yuna's face lit up. She whipped out her phone and sent a voice message to Hayden, her excitement almost contagious. "Hayden, Keira's just waiting for you to propose! Hurry up and come back already!"I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculously adorable she was.But after hitting send, Yuna sighed. "Why isn't he answering? What if something happened to him?"Her words made my heart do this weird little flip, but I couldn't let her see that. I forced a grin and shrugged. "Maybe he got swept off his feet by some gorgeous lady along the way."Yuna shot me a playful look. "Not a chance. Hayden's had like, a million admirers, and he's n
I closed my eyes, finally letting the worry about him fade a little. "Where are you?""I'm outside the apartment."My stomach dropped. I could picture him standing there, all alone at the old place. He didn't know I'd moved out. Of course, he went back there.I had moved out. Since I couldn't get ahold of Hayden, he had no idea, so of course, he'd gone back to the old place."You didn't have your phone on you. I asked Yuna, and she said you went home. Lena was in surgery, so I couldn't reach her either," Hayden explained.I took a deep breath, letting my eyes drift over my new, unfamiliar apartment. "I couldn't reach you either.""I know," he replied, his voice soft.A bittersweet smile tugged at my lips.Before I could ask why he'd been unreachable, he added, "I'll explain everything when I see you. Did you move?"Yeah, I had moved. And Hayden didn't know about this place.He'd talked about renting somewhere new and asked me to move in with him. I had said yes. But with him
A wave of sadness hit me, my nose tingling like I was about to cry. "Seriously, Hayden? I didn't think you'd be this petty. You won't even hear me out?""I'm not ignoring you," he shot back. "I called you, but you didn't pick up."I could totally picture him losing it, scrolling through security footage, finding out I'd left with Jace.Jace had already told me Hayden was looking for me. I grabbed Hayden's hand. "I wasn't ignoring you on purpose. I was in the ICU.""I know," he said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "That's why I'm not mad. And as for why you couldn't reach me, you'll see soon."His eyes flicked to the apartment building. "I haven't slept or even had water since you left last night. I'm exhausted and thirsty."His words made my heart ache. I walked ahead, scolding him. "You knew I had to leave for something serious. Why didn't you rest? And what's this about not drinking water?"He didn't answer, so I dropped it and hurried us inside.As soon as we got through