"Hayden, what's wrong with Keira? Is she sick?" Yuna's voice broke through the haze around me."Hayden, why aren't you saying anything? Keira wouldn't come home with me—are you two fighting?""How much longer until she wakes up?"I slowly opened my eyes, finding Yuna clinging to Hayden, her eyes red with worry. She must have been terrified when I fainted like that.Hayden's face was tense, his jaw set. "Stop overthinking. The doctor said she's fine.""Then what about you two? Are you fine?" Yuna pressed, clearly not buying it.Hayden hesitated. "I'll explain later.""Hayden!" Yuna raised her voice, almost scolding him. "So, you are fighting with Keira. Why? You promised you'd take care of her the way you do for me!""Yuna, there are things you don't understand. Please, don't make a fuss. Just go home, okay?" Hayden softened his voice, trying to calm her."No way. I'm staying until Keira wakes up," she said stubbornly.Hayden looked frustrated but kept his cool, trying to be p
Why else would he spend all those years helping everyone, scraping by just to pay for his own sister's heart transplant?And with Jace... if I hadn't given him blood, it would've been like watching him die right there in front of me.I couldn't figure out what was going on in Hayden's head, and I was done pretending I didn't notice. So, I opened my eyes, catching him off guard, making it impossible for him to hide that tenderness in his gaze.His hand, which had been gently tracing my cheek, froze. The warmth in his eyes flickered—too late to hide it.After a moment, he pulled his hand back, but I was faster. I grabbed it, holding tight. "Hayden, what are you doing? You clearly care, so why are you putting me through this?"Tears spilled over. I swear, I was one of those people who cried way too easily.I always told myself to stay strong, but my tears never got the memo. Fine—let them fall. If he was gonna see me cry, at least he'd know how much I cared, how much I loved him.M
Hayden just stared at me, silent.My heart was pounding like I was waiting for the verdict on some huge screw-up.Finally, after what felt like forever, he moved. He took my hand and said, "Keira, let go."And just like that, my heart dropped straight through the floor.Humiliation flooded over me, hot and stinging. I'd swallowed every last bit of my pride to try to fix things, and still... nothing.He'd made up his mind.He loved me, but he wouldn't be with me.That stubborn jerk.Anger and frustration boiled over, and before I knew it, I sank my teeth into his shoulder. Hard.He let out a grunt, but he didn't push me away—just stood there and let me do it.And the more I bit, the angrier I got. Part of me wanted to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, to make him wake up, make him change his mind.But even when my jaw started aching, he just stood there, stone-cold.I'd tried sweet-talking, promises, and now I was biting him with every ounce of frustration I had lef
If Lena left too, I'd seriously have no one to talk to.I get that life's just a big cycle of people coming and going—friends, family, relationships. But I wasn't ready for Lena to be one of the ones who drifted away."It's not like that," she said, catching my worried look. "I just want some more time off. They suspend me whenever they feel like it, bring me back whenever they want. Do they think I'm that easy?" She rolled her eyes, making me laugh."Oh, Dr. Lane, are you finally planning to put them in their place?""Absolutely. If I don't push back now, they'll drop me the second anything else happens." Lena was always so solid—at work, in love, everywhere."Not worried they won't take you back?" I teased.She poured me a glass of water, smirking. "Please. If one place doesn't want me, there's a line that will." She leaned in close, her face inches from mine. "Think I'm low on options?"Now that was confidence.With Lena's skills, hospitals would be lining up for her if this
I held the phone, hesitating for a few seconds, wondering what Jace wanted.Lena raised an eyebrow, silently urging me to answer."Rea," came Jace's voice."What's up?" My tone stayed cold, guarded.Even though things were over with Hayden, there was zero chance I'd go back to Jace. Every time he reached out, my walls shot up on instinct."I'm back," he said, like he'd just returned from some epic quest."Yeah, I know." Wayne had already told me.Jace paused. "Can we meet? If you don't want to meet alone, we can do it at my parents' house. They really miss you."I pictured Matthew and Lindey, the way they'd always been there for me, the airport pick-ups, the family dinners. Of course, they'd be worried."I have some things I need to tell you," Jace added when I stayed quiet. "It's about Steve... and it involves Hayden, too."My breath hitched. Hayden and I were done; anything related to him shouldn't even matter anymore.But that thought didn't last. Against my better judgme
"Who was at the door just now?" Lena asked, clearly trying to dodge any convo that might bring me down."Tanya," I said, tugging the curtains open to see rain starting to patter outside. "Last time, she wanted to talk 'collaboration.' Today, she was all chatty again. I ignored her.""Her kid's set to be discharged in a month," Lena said, meaning Tanya's preemie. "The baby's actually doing well, but she hasn't visited even once."I thought back to the last time I saw that tiny baby. "All she cares about is money. If Jace got custody, she'd be clinging to him so fast it'd make your head spin.""What could she possibly want to 'collaborate' with you on?""No clue, but whatever it is, I'm not buying it. She's just... drama on two legs. Best to keep my distance," I said, not budging.Lena stretched and got up. "You're right. Less contact, the better. But let's be real—if she's set on getting to you, she's not gonna back off after one or two brush-offs."She laughed, heading to the ba
"It's raining outside. Can't you talk here?" Lindey muttered, but one look from Matthew shut her up."Mom, didn't you say you were going to make gnocchi? Let me help," Wayne finally spoke up, breaking the tension.I didn't respond, just got up and followed Jace to the door, where he was waiting with an umbrella.Honestly, if he wanted privacy, there were a dozen rooms in the house. No real reason to head out into a downpour. But clearly, he had his reasons, so I didn't ask."You cold? Need a jacket?" he offered, sounding unexpectedly thoughtful.I couldn't deny that he'd been more considerate since our breakup. But it was too late for that."No, I'm good." I took the umbrella from him and stepped into the rain.Jace fell into step beside me, quiet for a beat. "Remember the last time we walked together in the rain like this?"Of course I remembered. It was about a year ago, when Seavora had been half-flooded from days of nonstop rain. Some streets were so submerged they were bas
I glanced down, noticing his soaked shoes. "Then how'd Hayden pull it off?""No clue. And nobody else seems to know, either." Jace tilted his umbrella up a bit, meeting my eyes."So, you thought I'd know? That you could get answers from me?"Jace held steady under my sharp stare. "I know you don't."He held my gaze for a beat before looking away. "He's deliberately keeping it under wraps. But I did hear something.""What?""Word is that the boss at Quartz Cue got... well, 'dealt with.' Not sure if it's true." He sounded hesitant, but I got what he was hinting at."You think Hayden was involved?"Jace was quiet for a second. "Maybe. But Quartz Cue is huge in Houston. Their boss isn't the kind of guy you just... handle."The way he said it, I could tell he'd tried to meet this Quartz Cue boss himself—and failed."I don't know how Hayden helped Steve. And he never gave me a chance to ask."Just then, a gust of wind sent a raindrop splashing against my cheek, cold and sharp. It