Chapter 119

As soon as the words left my mouth, Hayden's grip tightened. His eyes narrowed, and for a split second, something flickered in them before disappearing. Then, he released me, and the pressure on my hand vanished.

I quickly stepped aside, rubbing the stinging spot. "I made all the changes you requested. Do you want to check them now?"

Hayden remained motionless, lounging in his chair with his eyes closed. "No need. You should rest."

"Oh... Goodnight," I mumbled, turning to leave.

"Kiki," Hayden called out.

I froze. Did he just call me...? Kiki? That was my childhood nickname. Only my parents, and occasionally Lena, ever used it—even Lena usually called me Rea. But I heard him clearly; he called me Kiki.

I spun around, staring in shock. "What did you just say?"

"Nothing," he replied, eyes still closed. "Just... make sure you close the door properly."

I stared at him for a few more seconds, but when he said nothing else, I turned and slammed the door shut.

Instead of going straight to my room, I leaned against the hallway wall, trying to steady my racing heart. Despite my efforts to calm down, I couldn't shake the image of Hayden's eyes on mine, or the feeling of him half-embracing me as he opened the document on his laptop.

Finally, I smacked my forehead, forced myself back to my room, and flopped onto the bed, hoping for sleep. To distract myself, I checked my phone. Lena had sent a message: [Guess bad people live long lives. No major injuries, just a lot of blood.]

I smiled and replied: [Next time, I'll hit harder.]

Lena didn't reply. She was probably asleep or back in surgery. I opened Steve's messages; several were about Jace:

[You blew your ex's brains out. Impressive!] [Gotta say, well done.] [If you'd had this kind of attitude earlier, maybe you two wouldn't have ended up this way.] [Jace is the type who needs a good beating to stay interested.]

As I read Steve's last message, Tanya's pitiful face popped into my mind. She always looked that way around me—probably even more so around Jace. Would Jace eventually get bored of her?

Remembering Tanya's claim that Jace owed her, that he'd ruined her, I typed: [Steve, does Jace owe Tanya anything?]

It was late, and Steve didn't reply. I sent another message: [Or does Jace owe Desmond something?]

I stared at my phone, but no reply came. Finally, I set it down, ready to close my eyes.

Just then, a voice broke the silence. "Mr. Hart… you're so mean…"

I laughed. Demi, in her sleep, was cursing Hayden. How much had he messed with her?

Images of my encounters with Hayden flooded my mind, but this time, something was different. The more I thought about it, the calmer I felt. My heart wasn't racing; my face wasn't flushed. Eventually, thinking of him, I drifted off to sleep.

And I dreamed of teenage Hayden chasing me. "Kiki, be careful, don't fall…"