Chapter 731

“Rea, you really want to lose Hayden again? Staying with him like this—it’s reckless. You’re putting yourself in danger,” Wayne warned, pulling his classic scare tactic card.

“How am I not taking action? Besides, let’s not pretend we don’t both know—he’s been faking it, refusing to admit he’s Hayden,” I shot back, matching his energy.

Wayne’s face twisted, clearly not a fan of my pushback. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. If it does, I won’t be able to protect you.”

I snorted. “Protect me? When have you ever done that?”

That shut him up. Honestly, Wayne’s so-called ‘love’ for me was more about control than anything remotely romantic. Every move he made always came with strings attached.

When he realized I wasn’t budging, he gave me a cold nod. “Suit yourself,” he said, voice icy, and stormed off.

For years, Wayne had played the perfect gentleman—polite, protective, total golden boy vibes. But now? Mask off. It was clear he was ready to go full villain, and he didn’t care who got caught in the fallout.

Not that I was scared of him, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t on edge. I pressed the elevator button without thinking and ended up on Lena’s floor, her OB-GYN department. Guess old habits die hard.

Since I was already here, I figured, why not check in? We hadn’t talked in days. But as soon as I stepped off, a loud, gut-wrenching sob hit me.

Rounding the corner, I spotted a middle-aged woman sprawled on the floor, screaming like her whole world had just collapsed. “You killed my daughter-in-law and my grandson! You owe us their lives!”

A whole crowd had gathered, and her family was adding to the chaos. My stomach dropped. A terrible feeling crept in, and I couldn’t shake the thought that this might have something to do with Lena. I turned to head toward her office, but before I made it, she appeared.

“Lena, this isn’t about you, is it?” I asked.

Her expression was grim. “It is.”

Panic prickled my skin. Before I could say more, she walked straight toward the grieving family, looking every bit the composed professional. “I’m the head of this department. The hospital has submitted the case for a medical malpractice review. Please return home and wait for the results.”

“Wait for what?” the woman shrieked, crawling toward Lena. “Will waiting bring back my daughter-in-law and grandson? They were fine when they came in, and now they’re dead! How can you ask us to just go home and wait? Do you even have a conscience?”

When she started moving closer to Lena, I instinctively stepped between them. Big mistake.

“Who are you bringing backup for now?” one of the men in the family yelled.

Backup? What was he even talking about? I barely had time to open my mouth before he lunged at me. His fist was already flying, but Lena shoved me aside before it connected. Instead, his punch hit her shoulder, and she stumbled back.

“Stop!” A sharp, commanding voice cut through the chaos.

I spun around to see Aaron striding toward us. His timing couldn’t have been better. He looked like he’d just walked off the cover of Intimidatingly Handsome Quarterly. At over six feet tall, with his sharp suit and icy glare, his presence froze everyone in place—even the angry man hesitated for a second.

But only for a second. Still fuming, the guy wound up for another punch. Aaron stepped forward, pulled Lena behind him, and caught the guy’s fist like it was nothing.

“Call the police,” Aaron said.

The nurses, snapping out of their shock, grabbed their phones and called 911. That did the trick. The guy immediately froze, his anger crumbling. The middle-aged woman, on the other hand, cranked her wailing up to full volume.

Aaron didn’t even flinch at the theatrics. He just turned, steering Lena down the hall like none of it phased him. I trailed behind. Aaron led Lena back to her office.

“Thank you, Uncle Aaron,” Lena said.

“This situation has nothing to do with you. Why did you step in?” he asked sternly.

I frowned, still piecing things together. Lena had told me earlier this was connected to her, so what was he on about?

Sure enough, she explained, “If I hadn’t swapped shifts with Dr. Dale, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Ah. So there it was.

Chapter 731

“Move your shoulder,” he ordered.

Lena hesitated. When she didn’t budge, he reached out to test it himself, his touch surprisingly careful. Still, the moment he moved her arm, Lena winced, letting out a muffled groan.