Chapter 378

“Yuna can have the surgery—within the next couple of days!” Lena’s voice exploded from the speakerphone.

Hayden immediately turned to me, and I nodded, my heart pounding with the good news.

“They found a donor heart?” Hayden asked.

A pause followed before Lena’s teasing voice chimed in, “What are you still doing at Keira’s this late, huh?”

I rolled my eyes. Seriously? Now was not the time for jokes. “Focus, Lena. Update. Now.”

Lena chuckled, but quickly returned to the matter at hand. “It’s not a new donor. The family of the previous donor changed their mind again.”

“What did Professor Neumann say?” Hayden asked.

“He said Yuna’s tests all came back perfect. So, as long as nothing unexpected arises—like a cold or infection—she can have the surgery in three days,” Lena replied, sounding hopeful. She must have already spoken with Nate.

Hayden and I exchanged excited glances, both buzzing with nervous energy. I squeezed his hand as he asked, “Is there anything else we need to do?”

“Not really… except, oh wait, yes—make sure you’ve got the surgery fee ready.”

I glanced at Hayden and quickly interjected, “Don’t worry, we’ve got it covered. The hospital won’t have any complaints.”

“Okay then, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to it,” Lena said, sounding as if she were about to hang up. Then she added, “Oh, and Hayden, Keira’s on her period, so no funny business.”

We were taken aback.

While thrilled about Yuna’s surgery, we were also nervous—after all, any surgery carries risks. That night, neither of us slept well.

Before dawn, I heard Hayden moving around. Sounds from the kitchen confirmed he was already up, probably making breakfast. If I had to guess, it included something for Yuna, too.

I sat up in bed, staring out the window before grabbing my phone. Scrolling through social media, I noticed Cedric—the police officer whose friend request I’d accepted yesterday—hadn’t yet messaged me. So, why add me? Just to inflate his friend count? Ugh, how pointless.

I glanced at his profile picture before moving on to my feed. That’s when I saw an update from Steve—he was at some fancy pool training facility. I liked the post and commented: [I want tickets.]

Somehow, Hayden must have sensed I was awake. He entered the room, holding a glass of water. He handed it to me. “I made pearl barley soup. Let’s bring it to the hospital for Yuna’s breakfast. Sound good?”

I smiled. “I knew you were going to do that. Of course, it’s fine.”

Hayden reached out, gently smoothing a few strands of my messy hair. “You and I are getting more and more in sync.”

“I really believe Yuna’s going to be okay. Nate wouldn’t approve the surgery if he wasn’t confident,” I said, trying to reassure us both.

Hayden nodded, brushing his hand across my cheek. “Finish your water and get ready. I’ll go pack breakfast.”

As I sipped the water, I looked out the window and noticed something I hadn’t seen last night—a few scattered cigarette butts on the ground below. They were Jace’s. He had been here. He found this place… but didn’t come to see me. Probably because he saw me with Hayden.

Hayden and I headed to the hospital early; it was quite quiet upon our arrival. Not many people were around yet. But as soon as we pulled up, I spotted someone familiar. Wade stood by the hospital entrance, staring up at the sky. He wasn’t moving, just standing there as if frozen in place. For some reason, I felt a pang of sadness seeing him like that.

“Stop for a second,” I said to Hayden.

He slowed the car, and I pointed toward Wade. “Look at him.”