Chapter 728

Yes, I lied to Yuna, but I had my reasons. I’d explained myself, and if she still wanted to hold a grudge, that was her choice. So, I let it go. Yuna was smart. If she was willing to be reasonable, she’d figure it out eventually.

Still, as I left her place, I called Wade. Not because I loved sticking my nose in other people’s drama, but because Yuna mattered to Hayden—and that made her important to me, too. Like the saying goes: love me, love my dog. Plus, Yuna wasn’t a bad person. She was just hurt. Betrayal does that—it makes people lash out.

Before Wade could even pick up, I heard his voice behind me.

“Keira.”

I turned, slipping my phone back into my pocket. No need to ask why he was here—it was obvious.

“You’re here for Yuna,” I said. Then, with zero filter, “Or for the heart inside her chest?”

Wade froze, no comeback. I let out a dry laugh. “Still don’t have an answer, huh?”

He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m struggling with it myself.”

The guy was wrecked, no point hiding it. Whatever he’d been through these past few days had clearly torn him up. But honestly? His struggles were self-inflicted, and I wasn’t about to solve them for him.

“Then figure it out,” I said. “You can’t get out of this mess until you’re honest with yourself about what you really want.”

It was easy to say—hard to do. If Wade could sort his feelings out, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.

“We’ve been over this. You need to leave her alone. Things have gone way too far already. Take a step back, breathe, and let yourself figure it out before you make it worse.”

He hesitated, his voice breaking a little. “I know. But I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?” I asked.

Wade hesitated, his lips pressing together before he finally spoke. “Did she tell you just how… that she wants to get rid of the heart?”

And there it was. The thing keeping him here, weighing him down.

Yuna’s words had gotten to him. It was obvious she’d said it out of anger, but Wade? He believed her. Still, the fact that he was this concerned about the heart in her chest spoke volumes. I felt like I already had the answer on his behalf.

“She didn’t say that,” I said, cutting off his spiraling thoughts. “She’s just trying to scare you.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“Even if she wanted to replace the heart, it’s not you know it,” I added.

Wade looked down. “But what if she abuses it? Like—”

“Wade,” I interrupted, sharp and firm. “You don’t care about Yuna. You care about the heart inside her.”

The words hit him like a brick wall. He froze, his eyes wide and confused, like he didn’t know how he’d ended up here.

“You need to stop. Even if Yuna is willing to forgive you, I won’t,” I warned, my voice like ice.

Sometimes, it takes someone outside the storm to point out how lost you really are.

“Leave,” I told him flatly. “Don’t come here again. And at KRA, stay away from her. If I find out you’ve ignored this, you’ll regret it.”

With that, I turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, speechless and out of excuses.

Wayne showed up at the hospital, just as Hayden said he would. He didn’t speak, didn’t flinch—just stood there, staring at Hayden like he was trying to figure out what to do next. Hayden, the picture of calm, met his stare head-on. No flinching. No cracks. A silent standoff.

“You’re not Xander. You’re Hayden,” Wayne finally said, breaking the silence. Hayden’s response was ice-…