Chapter 518

Finally, Jace had picked up on something off about Wayne. I took a sip, buying time. “Why don’t you ask him yourself? I don’t have the energy to think about anyone right now.”

His face went flat. “Yeah, you don’t have to keep reminding me.”

“Just being honest,” I shrugged, then coughed, and Jace reached over, patting my back. “Does Hayden even know you got hurt?” His question hit right where it hurt.

I held the cup in my hands, the warmth chasing away the chill in my body but doing nothing for the cold ache in my chest. “He came… then he left.”

Jace didn’t say anything, so I handed the cup back. “I’m exhausted. I need to sleep.”

I lay down, and he stayed right there, just sitting by my side. My fever made my eyelids feel heavy, and as I drifted off, I thought I heard him murmur, “You didn’t seem this broken when we broke up.”

Seriously? He was still hung up on that? But he wasn’t wrong. Breaking up with him hadn’t hurt the way this did.

“Maybe it’s because you hurt me slowly, over and over, til I just got numb to it,” I mumbled, half-asleep, and rolled over, finally slipping under.

I woke up to the smell of food, and my stomach growled. Opening my eyes, I saw Jace scrolling through his phone, completely absorbed. He hadn’t even noticed I was awake.

Seeing the food on the table, I tried to sit up, but the pain made me gasp. Jace’s head snapped up, and he tossed his phone aside, rushing over. “You’re awake! Why didn’t you call me?”

“I’m starving,” I muttered, not wasting words.

He chuckled. “Figured you would be. Some things never change. Every time you had a cold or a fever, the first thing you’d want when you woke up was food.”

He wasn’t wrong. Most people lose their appetite when they’re sick; I just got hungrier. Back then, Lindey used to tease me, laughing, “A fever isn’t a real illness for you; it’s just an excuse to eat.”

As he talked, Jace reached over to feel my forehead. “Fever’s gone.” He handed me a wet wipe to clean my hands and started opening up the food containers he’d brought. I didn’t even have to ask – everything inside was something I loved.

Even though Jace hadn’t loved me deeply in those ten years together, he’d always remembered my favorite foods. On the tray sat a caramelized mushroom and kale salad, celeriac, pear, and butter bean soup, and gnocchi—dishes I hadn’t had in forever but had been craving.

Since Hayden and I broke up, nothing had tasted this comforting. Sure, I could order anything I wanted from a restaurant, but nothing quite tasted like home. Or, really, like Hayden’s cooking. He’d spoiled me, and now I was left to fend for myself. The thought made my chest ache, a weird mix of bitterness, anger, and longing.

“This wasn’t from a restaurant. My mom made it,” Jace said, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked up, surprised. He smirked. “Relax. I didn’t tell her about you almost getting swept away. She just knew you missed her gnocchi earlier, so I asked her to make something special and said I’d bring it to you myself.”

I let out a quiet breath, feeling relieved but guilty. Lindey’s kindness had always been such a steady warmth, and I hated the thought of worrying her, even indirectly.

Of course, Jace noticed. “Alright, stop looking so emotional. Put that energy into eating and getting better.” He handed me a fork, and I took it, but instead of digging in, I set it aside. “Water first, please.”

Maybe it was from swallowing all that dirty water earlier, but my throat felt raw, like something sharp was stuck there, making it hard to swallow.

Chapter 519