Chapter 340
I couldn’t believe it—I was actually having a nosebleed. Seriously, who gets a nosebleed like that? I’d only ever seen it in movies or cartoons, always thinking it was some over-the-top gag. Never in a million years did I imagine it would be me, standing there with blood running down my face like a total weirdo.
“Kiki, you’re bleeding!” Hayden’s eyes widened as he reached for my face.
But I beat him to it, pinching my nose and tilting my head back. “I’m fine, just… overheated,” I tried to sound cool, but my cheeks burned. So much for that.
“Not enough water?” he asked, his voice full of concern.
“Yeah… sure.” Dehydration sounded better than admitting the real reason.
He produced some tissues from his pocket and handed them over. “You’ve been running around too much. I should have 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 the whole thing, but still… it felt like his fault.
Once the bleeding stopped, Hayden did the most ridiculous thing. He scooped me up, right there in the middle of a crowded hospital—a full-on bridal carry. People were definitely staring.
“Put me down!” I squirmed.
He ignored me. The more I struggled, the more people looked, so I gave up and hid my face in his chest. Maybe if I couldn’t see them, they couldn’t see me, right?
Instead of taking me to Lena’s break room, as I expected, he carried me straight back to Yuna’s hospital room.
Yuna, being a girl, of course had pads ready. And then—because my life clearly needed more cringe—Hayden actually went out and bought me panties. I know some girls might find that sweet, but I was dying of secondhand embarrassment.
Yuna must have been completely wiped out because she slept through the whole thing, a deep sleep. We didn’t even come close to waking her.
“Are you in pain?” Hayden asked, sounding way too familiar with period-related things for a guy.
I shook my head. “No, I’m good.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t even realized my period was coming—it arrived two days early, which is how I ended up in this whole embarrassing mess.
“Hayden, I messed up today,” I said, cupping my hands around the warm water he’d given me, reflecting on everything with Tanya.
“No, you didn’t,” he said immediately.
I shot him a wry smile. “I know you like to spoil me, but you can’t just brush it off when I make a mistake.”
He shook his head, meeting my gaze seriously. “It’s not that. You didn’t do anything wrong. Stopping her from hurting the baby was the right move. No matter what mistakes adults make, the child shouldn’t suffer. Protecting life—it’s important.”
His words hit me harder than I expected, a warm feeling spreading through my chest.
I nudged his leg with mine, flashing a grin. “You really were a soldier.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, suddenly tense. “Don’t tempt me.”
I knew exactly what he meant, and I burst out laughing.
Since I’d been with Hayden, I’d noticed something about myself—I laughed out loud a lot more. I felt free to tease and be playful around him in a way I never had before. He watched me with that rare smile pulling at his lips. Hayden was so serious most of the time, especially with Yuna still being sick, so seeing him smile… it felt like a win.
They say the best kind of love is when you’re being a total goof, and he’s just there, smiling like you’re his whole world. I used to be all about finding that perfect love, but it totally blew up in my face. Then, out of nowhere, I found a love that gave me everything I didn’t even know I needed.
Life’s full of surprises, so don’t be too guarded. You never know—something way better might be waiting just around the corner.
“I heard from Lena that Yuna’s surgery might get delayed. Is that true?” I asked.
Hayden nodded. “Yeah, Professor Neumann’s already looking into other heart donors.”