Even though I knew he was right, and I was totally at fault, why did I feel so wronged crying like
that? Hayden turned back and saw me in full meltdown mode. He sighed and pulled me into his
arms. “It’s my fault. I said something too harsh… I won’t do that again
The more heforted me, the worse I felt.
I raised my hand and smacked his chest. “You’re not wrong! Why are you ming yourself? It’s
clearly my fault.”
“No, you did nothing wrong. It’s me… I let my stupid thoughts take over, and I wasn’t satisfied, so I
said something dumb,” Hayden replied, taking all the me like it was his job.
That only made me feel more guilty, so I kept hitting him–lightly, of course. But still, I kept at it.
Finally, frustrated, I bit him.
“Ow, that hurts,” Hayden whispered.
It was the first time I’d ever heard him admit pain.
I let go, staring at him through tear–filled eyes. He gently wiped away my tears. “You’ve bitten me
now, so no more crying, okay? If your eyes get all swollen tomorrow, you won’t look pretty.”
“It’s your fault,” I pouted, ming him again.
“Mm, it’s my fault,” he repeated, still gently brushing away the tears.
But the truth? He wasn’t at fault at all.
I hugged him, my face buried in his chest. “I’ve been so spoiled by you.”
“Exactly, my bad. And then I had the nerve to scold you I deserve punishment. Want to bite me
again?” he teased.
I smacked him lightly, and he pulled me closer.
Our little argument felt huge at the time, but it onlysted, like, five minutes. After all the crying and
fussing, there was still a bit of awkwardness in the air.
So, I gave myself an easy out. “I want some milk.”
Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.
“Alright, I’ll warm some up for you. You go take a shower first,” Hayden said, gently nudging me
toward the bathroom and closing the door behind me.
“Hayden, it was my fault. I’ll be better, okay?” I admitted through the door, feeling guilty.
“You’re never wrong,” he called back as he walked away.
Hearing that, I stared at myself in the mirror, tears welling up again.
With Jace, I was always so careful. Forget about acting out–I had to read his moods every day,
worried a single frown meant I’d done something wrong. But with Hayden? He spolled me, indulged
me, and yet, I still acted up.
“Keira, get it together,” I told myself as I stared at my reflection.
When I finished my shower and stepped out, Hayden had already warmed the milk. He was
lounging on the couch in hisfy clothes, tapping away on hisptop.
As soon as I walked over, he set hisptop aside and took the towel from my hand to dry my hair.
I sipped the warm milk, my mind drifting back to dinner. “Hayden, do you know I’ve been mad at
you thest couple of days?”
“Why?” he asked, his hands gently massaging my scalp as he dried my hair. It felt so good.
“I was mad because you lied to me. You didn’t tell me the truth.”
“Hm?” He sounded genuinely confused.
I bit the rim of the cup. “I thought you were the big boss behind Ron. I thought you were keeping
your identity secret from me.”
“Why’d you think that?” Hayden asked, clearly amused.
I thought back to overhearing his phone call with Ron in the stairwell. There was also that other call.
If I mentioned it, he’d probably figure everything out.
“Because yourst name is Hart, and Ron was, like, totally trying to impress you. It made me
suspicious,” I exined.
“Now that you know it wasn’t me, you’re not mad anymore, right? Good.” Hayden shrugged, totally
chill, like it was no big deal.
“Hayden,” I said again, a little smile tugging at my lips. Just like at dinner, I hooked my arms around
his neck and pulled him down for a kiss–sweet with the taste of milk.
But this time, Hayden didn’t hold back. He grabbed me, deepening the kiss.
As things started heating up, right when it felt like it was about to go there, my phone rang.
It was Lena.
With Yuna still in the hospital, I couldn’t ignore the call, pulled away, breathing hard, and answered.”
Lena? Wait, what? Say that again?”