Chapter 550

Wade stayed quiet, clearly wrestling with something—or just unwilling to admit it. I decided to cut to the chase. “Wade, did you come into Yuna’s life on purpose?” His head snapped up, panic flashing in his eyes. That look alone was answer enough.

Thinking of how I resembled Narelle, and remembering how Wade had been close by after her passing—even following me into the hospital for Yuna’s surgery—I couldn’t help but ask, “Were you hoping that by spending time around Yuna, you’d get to see me more often? To… imagine Narelle through me?”

“No.” His denial came out fast, almost desperately. “I haven’t done that. Not even once.”

He took a big gulp of coffee, like he was trying to calm himself or bury something. I didn’t say anything, just watched him carefully.

“Believe me or not,” Wade said, his voice serious, “I’ve never thought of you as Narelle. You may look alike, but I know you’re not the same person.”

His honesty reassured me—at least a little. I’d always worried that Wade might see me as Narelle’s replacement, that he’d never really move on. Now that he’d said otherwise, I believed him. But one thing still didn’t add up.

“Still,” I pressed, “your presence around Yuna feels way too coincidental.”

Wade’s mouth tightened, and he said nothing. It wasn’t just my imagination—there was definitely more to his sudden interest in Yuna.

“If you’re not willing to explain, I’ll stop you from seeing her,” I said bluntly.

“I mean no harm to Yuna. I just…” He faltered again. “I just want to protect her. Quietly, from a distance.”

I could see the sincerity in his eyes; he wasn’t putting on a show. But Wade and Yuna barely knew each other, so why this intense urge to protect her?

“Why do you want to protect her?” I asked, and then a thought struck me, making my heart pound. “Wade, don’t tell me…”

My shock must have been obvious because Wade looked down, as if he knew I’d figured it out.

“Yuna’s heart transplant… the heart she received… it was Narelle’s, wasn’t it?”

For a moment, it felt like my blood turned to ice. Suddenly, everything clicked. No wonder Wade had stayed by the hospital that day, refusing to leave. He hadn’t been there for me—he’d been there to witness Narelle’s heart beating again, now inside Yuna.

I took a couple of long sips of my coffee, trying to steady myself.

“Narelle is still alive, in a way,” Wade murmured, his eyes misting over. “She lives on, in Yuna’s world.”

The bitterness of the coffee grounded me. “So, in a sense, you’ve started seeing Yuna as Narelle. Isn’t that it?”

Wade hesitated. “No, I know she’s not Narelle. She just has Narelle’s heart.”

“But Yuna’s fallen for you, Wade,” I said, pushing a little further. “Do you think that love comes from Yuna herself, or from the heart beating in her chest?”

Wade took another sip of coffee. “I don’t know.”

I exhaled slowly. “So how do you plan to respond to her feelings?”

He stayed quiet, which told me everything. He was lost, caught between his past and whatever he felt now. Feelings aren’t something anyone else can sort out for you. In the end, this was Wade’s decision to make.

I watched him, wrestling with emotions he couldn’t seem to name. “Wade, even though Yuna has Narelle’s heart, she’s still Yuna. She’s not Narelle, and you need to understand that. And…”

I let my words hang there for a moment. “You have to figure out your own feelings and make a choice, soon. If you don’t, you’re only going to hurt Yuna more deeply.”

“I know,” he murmured, looking as lost as ever. “I just… I don’t know what to do right now.”

I understood, but there was nothing more I could say. I’d told him what he needed to hear. The rest was up to him.