Chapter 495

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.

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