Chapter 405

The answer was easy. “Nope. Not a chance.”

Yuna frowned. “That won’t do. When Hayden gets back, I’m making him marry you right away. Once you’re married, no one can steal you.”

Such a romantic. She didn’t know there’s a little thing called divorce.

But I just smiled and played along. “Fine by me. I’ve been waiting on that proposal forever.”

“Really?” Yuna’s face lit up. She whipped out her phone and sent a voice message to Hayden, her excitement almost contagious. “Hayden, Keira’s just waiting for you to propose! Hurry up and come back already!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculously adorable she was.

But after hitting send, Yuna sighed. “Why isn’t he answering? What if something happened to him?”

Her words made my heart do this weird little flip, but I couldn’t let her see that. I forced a grin and shrugged. “Maybe he got swept off his feet by some gorgeous lady along the way.”

Yuna shot me a playful look. “Not a chance. Hayden’s had, like, a million admirers, and he’s never cared about any of them. He’s totally into you!”

We kept joking around for a bit until the hospital breakfast cart rolled in. I stuck around while Yuna ate, but once she was settled in with the caregiver, I headed out to meet Lena.

Lena, as promised, handed over the backup phone with a brand-new number.

First thing I did? Tried calling Hayden. Still no answer. Ugh.

The unease in my chest was growing, but I knew rushing off to search for Hayden wasn’t exactly realistic right now. I’d just have to wait and try calling him again later.

After leaving the hospital, I hopped in a cab and headed home. Once I got there, I pulled out the files on my parents’ car accident, the ones I’d combed through a million times.

Same conclusion every time: brake failure caused the crash.

Was it just a mechanical issue? Or something darker?

The report didn’t say, which bugged me. How had this gone unquestioned? Matthew had handled everything after the accident—how could he have missed this? Or…had he?

The only way to get answers was to ask him directly, but Matthew had made it clear I should drop it. Told me to stop digging.

Did he know something? Was he hiding something from me?

That thought sent a cold chill down my spine.

I was still zoning out, staring at the accident report, when there was a knock at the door. Without thinking, I got up and opened it.

Chapter 405

“Didn’t expect anyone to still be here,” said the guy standing outside, looking me over like I was the last person he thought he’d see.

I blinked at him, totally confused. “Uh, who are you?”

“Demolition office,” he replied, flipping through his notepad. “We’re doing the final check to confirm everyone’s moved out. Water and power are getting shut off soon, and we’re prepping for demolition.”

“Ms… Keira Kay, right? You’ve already signed the papers. Why haven’t you moved out yet?”

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to move. I just couldn’t bring myself to leave.

But I knew I couldn’t keep putting it off. “I’ll move today.”

“You have to,” he reminded me, “Once we shut off the water and power, you won’t be able to stay here anyway.”

Before he left, he threw in one last tip. “No need to lock the door when you’re done.”

After I closed the door behind him, I took a slow look around the apartment. One last look at what was left of my parents’ place.

Then, with a heavy sigh, I called the moving company. “Hi, this is Keira Kay. I’d like to confirm my moving service for today…Yeah, today’s fine.”

By the time everything was packed up and sent off, it was evening. The new place I bought after the demolition notice was now full of boxes. It didn’t feel like home.

I sank into the couch, staring at the unfamiliar walls. My mind felt like a total blank until the backup phone rang. Not my usual phone—Lena’s backup one. Only she had that number, so I figured it was her. I answered, sounding more exhausted than I realized. “Hello?”

“Where are you? Hayden’s voice came through,

Chapter 406