Chapter 469

I froze, staring at that single word: [Okay.]. My brain couldn’t even process it at first, so I just kept rereading the messages I’d sent him.

“What the hell is he thinking?!” Jace cursed, dialing Hayden’s number again. This time, it went straight to voicemail.

My vision blurred as I stared at the screen. Without a word, I turned and walked to the window, looking out at the dark sky. I heard footsteps behind me, but I cut them off. “Leave me alone for a while, please.”

Jace and Wayne knew I was hurting. Neither said a thing. I heard the door click softly as they left.

The moment they were gone, the tears I’d been holding back finally spilled over. I didn’t know if I was crying because Hayden had agreed to the breakup so easily or because of the crushing betrayal.

I’d waited for him, hoping he’d come see me. But he left—without a word, without even seeing me. Sure, I’d been asleep for three days, but how had things gotten so cold in that time?

Maybe he’d been hurt saving me and didn’t want me to worry. Or maybe there was something else, something he couldn’t say. Could it be the Hart family? Maybe they didn’t want us together.

A hundred wild thoughts ran through my mind, but I forced them down. Guessing wouldn’t fix anything. I needed to ask him straight up. But with his phone off, I had no way to reach him. Desperate, I decided to call Yuna, momentarily forgetting the time difference.

“Keira?” Yuna’s voice was groggy, like I’d just woken her up. For a second, I didn’t know what to say.

“Keira?” she repeated.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” I tried to keep my voice steady, hiding how wrecked I felt. I didn’t want to stress Yuna, especially after everything she’d been through with her surgery.

“It’s fine. I’ve been meaning to call you anyway,” she said, sounding more alert. “Hayden told me you were busy overseas.”

Hearing his name made my throat tighten.

Oblivious, Yuna continued cheerfully, “When are you and Hayden coming back? I miss you.”

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

There were no flights tonight, but I needed to get back. I needed answers. Did Hayden really think that just because he was some wealthy heir now, I wasn’t good enough for him?

“That’s great! You and Hayden will come back together, right? We should have dinner to celebrate,” Yuna said excitedly. “Oh! I had my first paid job today, helping someone arrange flowers online. They loved it!”

She sounded so proud, and I was genuinely happy for her. Yuna had always been a go-getter.

“That’s amazing. You’re seriously talented,” I told her, forcing myself to sound upbeat.

“Thanks! Can’t wait to catch up in person!” she chirped.

“Same here,” I said, but I couldn’t keep the conversation going any longer. “You should rest.”

“Alright. See you soon!” she said sweetly before hanging up.

As soon as the call ended, the knot in my chest tightened. Yuna’s cheerful voice made one thing painfully clear—Hayden was fine. There wasn’t any emergency keeping him from me. He had chosen to leave, had chosen to agree to break up without even trying to fight for us.

I had said it first, sure, but I never expected him to actually go along with it. I wanted to provoke him, to get a reaction—but instead, he just… agreed. Why? What the hell was he thinking?

I needed answers. The only way to get them was to go back and talk to him face-to-face.

Determined, I grabbed my phone and started booking a flight. But just before I hit submit, it hit me—I hadn’t even checked on Steve yet.

I closed the ticket app, took a breath, and headed to find Wayne and Jace to ask about Steve’s condition. As I reached for the door, I froze. I overheard Wayne talking to Jace just outside.

“Hayden probably saw the news and misunderstood, thinking Rea still has feelings for you. That’s why he’s acting like this.”