Chapter 77

I just smiled. “In my next life, I’ll be born as their daughter. Then we can actually be real siblings.”

Wayne’s smile faltered, but he quickly nodded toward the gnocchi. “Eat a little more. You’ve been losing weight.”

“Okay,” I replied, digging in.

Wayne watched me intently. I finally stopped when I was too full, switching to soup.

“Jace still cares about you,” Wayne said casually. “He even made cucumber soup for you, pretending it was from my mom.”

I forced a small smile. “Better late than never… but barely.”

The sore in my mouth made eating difficult, so I packed the leftovers. “Thanks for coming, Wayne. Let your parents know I’ll visit them once this project is finished.”

I gestured around the amusement park. “We’re supposed to finish in less than a month, but the lighting hasn’t even been tested yet. It’s insane.”

“Jace mentioned it, but don’t forget to take care of yourself too,” Wayne said, his voice full of concern.

“Yeah, I know,” I replied, then pointed to Hayden. “I need to get back to work.”

“Be careful,” Wayne reminded me.

Hayden barely touched his lunch that day and was almost silent all afternoon. It felt like he was angry, but I didn’t know why.

The next few days, he was even more distant, working in silence. Honestly, it made things easier. We accomplished a lot, and at least we now had scheduled water breaks. I couldn’t tell if that was more for him or me.

By the end of the week, we were on track, but who knew what lay ahead? The work was exhausting—so much so that Demi, who usually can’t miss her favorite shows, would crash the second she got home. But I couldn’t. Every night, I reviewed and summarized the day’s test results, usually staying up until eleven or twelve.

I was completely wiped out. When exhaustion hit, I’d splash cold water on my face and dunk my feet in it, shocking myself awake.

Then, unexpectedly, Hayden, who’d barely spoken to me outside of work, messaged me just after my cold water routine:

You asleep? If not, come over. We need to talk about a few issues with tomorrow’s testing area.

If his message had been only the first two words, I would have ignored it. But since it was work-related, I replied immediately: On my way.

Thankfully, I was still awake enough to grab my laptop. I knocked on his door.

Hayden was wearing a military green T-shirt and black cotton sleep pants. He seemed taller, making me feel even shorter.

He glanced at my face, his gaze hardening for a second, but he remained silent, stepping aside to let me in.

I set down my laptop, about to open it, when he rotated his screen. “Check these spots I marked. Do they match the blueprint?”

He had a hand-drawn blueprint beside his computer, along with a digital version. Everything appeared to match my files.

I was surprised he’d even ask, but upon double-checking, I found an issue. Demi and I had reviewed this several times, but we’d missed it. Good thing Hayden caught it; it would have been a major problem later.

“There’s definitely a problem. I’ll fix it now and send you the updated files. Keep checking the rest.”

Hayden handed me a glass of water and returned to his work.

I tried to focus, but my eyelids grew heavy. I even pinched my leg to stay awake. Hayden, however, seemed completely alert, as if sleep was unnecessary.

Just as I was about to suggest finishing tomorrow, he stood and went to the balcony, phone in hand. I heard him speaking softly. His voice was so smooth, so calming, it made my eyelids even heavier.