Chapter 546

“Huh?!”

Wait, Hayden went missing before? He’d never mentioned that. Now that I thought about it, in all the time we’d been together, he’d rarely talked about his family or his past, aside from Yuna. I’d always figured he felt self-conscious about his family background, and I didn’t want to mess with his pride by asking. But now… maybe he’d kept quiet to hold me at a distance. The thought of that kinda stung.

“So… how did he go missing? Like, was he kidnapped by traffickers or something?” I half-joked.

“Worse. He was actually kidnapped. But my parents wouldn’t let anyone talk about it.”

I blinked, stunned. “Wait, kidnapped? But wasn’t he old enough back then? How did that even happen?”

“I don’t know much,” Yuna admitted. “My parents kept it all hush-hush. I just overheard things here and there. Later, they managed to find him, but right after that, they sent him off to join the military.”

She shook her head. “You have no idea how much I cried when he left for boot camp.”

I knew Hayden had been in the military, but I had no idea it was because of something like this. Maybe his parents had wanted him to toughen up, to know how to protect himself if he ever faced that kind of danger again.

“Hayden never told you about any of this?” Yuna asked, noticing the shock on my face.

I forced a small, bitter smile. “No, he didn’t. Makes me wonder if he even loves me. I mean, if you love someone, you’d want to share everything with them, right?”

Yuna, who was completely obsessed with Wade and couldn’t go a day without seeing him, probably agreed with me. Sure enough, she didn’t argue. She just said, “Hayden’s always been quiet. Even when he was home, he barely spoke more than a few words all year.”

I didn’t call her out on the weak excuse. Instead, I just gave her a small smile. Whatever Hayden’s reasons, it wasn’t my place to push. He’d even bought Yuna’s plane ticket on the same flight as mine. And to make her comfortable, I’d asked the flight attendants to adjust her seat.

Yuna got airsick, and not long after we boarded, she was out cold. But her words kept spinning in my mind. Could it be that Hayden’s dad had targeted my parents because of Hayden’s kidnapping, not for money? The thought gnawed at me, and I realized I hadn’t even asked Yuna when exactly Hayden’s kidnapping happened.

Chapter 546 +25 BONUS

But as I glanced over at her sleeping face, still creased with worry even in her sleep, I didn’t have the heart to wake her.

By the time we touched down in Houston, it was evening again. But this time, there was no one waiting for us. We took a cab to the hotel. Yuna looked miserable, keeping her eyes shut the entire ride.

Watching her, I couldn’t shake the worry. “Should we stop by a hospital, just to be safe?”

“No need, I’m fine,” she mumbled, slipping her arm through mine and resting her head on my shoulder. “I just need to lie down once we get to the hotel.”

But I couldn’t help reaching over to check her forehead. It felt a little warm. Ignoring her protests, I had the driver take us straight to the hospital. When we got there, I insisted she get her heart checked. While she was inside, Hayden’s call came through—he was calling Yuna, of course.

Since her phone was with me, I didn’t pick up. He called again, and when I didn’t answer that either, my own phone lit up. Of course, he’d call me. He had to know I was with her; he was clearly keeping tabs on everything I did.

A sharp wave of irritation flared up. I hit “reject,” but he immediately called back. I knew he was probably panicking, not able to reach Yuna. So, what—he thought I was Yuna’s designated babysitter now?

I finally answered, not giving him a second to speak before snapping, “Hayden, who said you could track my every move? And why shove me into ‘babysitter’ duty for your sister? You think you can just expect that of me?”

He was silent on the other end for a beat, then asked in a low voice, “Where’s Yuna? Why isn’t she answering?”

His calm reply was like punching a pillow—my anger had nowhere to go. I stayed silent.