As soon as the word left my mouth, Hayden’s grip tightened. His eyes narrowed, and for a split


    second, I saw something flicker in them before it disappeared.


    Then, just like that, he let go, and the pressure on my hand vanished.


    I quickly stepped aside, rubbing the spot where his grip had stung. “I made all the changes you


    asked for. Do you want to check them now?”


    Hayden didn’t budge, still lounging in the chair with his eyes shut. “No need. You should get some


    rest.”


    “Oh… Goodnight,” I mumbled, turning to go..


    “Kiki,” Hayden suddenly called out.


    I froze mid–step. Did he just call me…?


    Kiki…


    That was my childhood nickname. The only people who ever called me that were my parents when


    they were alive, and Lena sometimes–but even she usually calls me Rea.


    But I heard him clearly–he just called me Kiki.


    I spun around, staring at him in shock. “What did you just say?”


    “Nothing,” he replied, still with his eyes closed. “Just… make sure you close the door properly.”


    I stared at him for a few more seconds, waiting, but when he didn’t say anything else, I turned and


    yanked the door shut a little harder than I needed to.


    Instead of heading straight back to the room I shared with Demi, I hung around in the hallway,


    leaning against the wall to steady my breathing and the wild pounding of my heart.


    But no matter how hard I tried to calm down, I couldn’t shake the image of Hayden’s eyes locked on


    mine or the feeling of him half–embracing me as he opened the document on hisptop.


    Eventually, I had to give myself a little smack on the forehead to snap out of it and force myself to


    head back to my room. I flopped onto the bed, hoping I could finally get some sleep.


    To keep my mind from spiraling, I grabbed my phone and saw a bunch of unread messages on the


    chat app.


    Lena had sent one: [Guess bad people live long lives. No major injuries, just a lot of blood.]


    1 smiled and typed back: [Next time, I’ll hit harder.]


    Lena didn’t reply. Maybe she was already asleep, or back in surgery.


    I left our chat and opened Steve’s messages. He’d sent a bunch, all about Jace.


    [You blew your ex’s brains out. Impressive!]


    (Gotta say, well done.]


    [If you’d had this kind of attitude earlier, maybe you two wouldn’t have ended up this way.]


    [Ja?e is the type who needs a good beating to stay interested.]


    As I read Steve’sst message, Tanya’s soft, pitiful face popped into my mind. She always looked


    like that around me–probably even more so around Jace.


    If that’s the case, would Jace eventually get bored of her?


    After a quick.second, I remembered how Tanya had said Jace owed her, that he’d ruined her. I


    typed back: [Steve, does Jace owe Tanya anything?]


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    It waste, and Steve didn’t reply. I thought for a few more seconds and sent another message: [Or


    does Jace owe Desmond something?]


    I stared at my phone screen for a long time, but no reply came. Eventually, I set it down, ready to


    close my


    eyes.


    Just then, a voice broke the silence of the room. “Mr. Hart… you’re so mean…”


    Pfft-


    I couldn’t help butugh as I turned to look at Demi on the bed across from me. She was talking in


    her sleep.


    How much had Hayden messed with her to make her curse him even in her dreams?


    Images of my recent run–ins with Hayden started ying in my mind again. But this time,


    something was different. The more I thought about it, the less flustered I felt. My heart wasn’t racing,


    and my face wasn’t heating up like before. Eventually, as I kept thinking about him, I drifted off to


    sleep.


    And I dreamed of Hayden–teenage Hayden–chasing after me as I ran around like a maniac. “Kiki,


    be careful, don’t fall…”