The answer was easy. “Nope. Not a chance.”
Yuna frowned. “That won’t do. When Hayden gets back, I’m making him marry you right away.
Once you’re married, no one can steal you.”
Such a romantic. She didn’t know there’s a little thing called divorce.
But I just smiled and yed along. “Fine by me. I’ve been waiting on that proposal forever.”
“Really?” Yuna’s face lit up. She whipped out her phone and sent a voice message to Hayden, her
excitement almost contagious. “Hayden, Keira’s just waiting for you to propose! Hurry up ande
back already!”
I couldn’t help butugh at how ridiculously adorable she was.
But after hitting send, Yuna sighed. “Why isn’t he answering? What if something happened to him?”
Her words made my heart do this weird little flip, but I couldn’t let her see that. I forced a grin and
shrugged. “Maybe he got swept off his feet by some gorgeousdy along the way.”
Yuna shot me a yful look. “Not a chance. Hayden’s had like, a million admirers, and he’s never
cared about any of them. He’s totally into you!”
We kept joking around for a bit until the hospital breakfast cart rolled in. I stuck around while Yuna
ate, but once she was settled in with the caregiver, I headed out to meet Lena.
Lena, as promised, handed over the backup phone with a brand–new number.
First thing I did? Tried calling Hayden. Still no answer. Ugh.
The unease in my chest was growing, but I knew rushing off to search for Hayden wasn’t exactly
realistic right now. I’d just have to wait and try calling him againter.
After leaving the hospital, I hopped in a cab and headed home. Once I got there, I pulled out the
files on my parents‘ car ident, the ones I’dbed through a million times.
Same conclusion every time: brake failure caused the crash.
Brake failure.
Was it just a mechanical issue? Or something darker?
The report didn’t say, which bugged me. How had this gone unquestioned? Matthew had handled
everything after the ident–how could he have missed this? Or… had he?
The only way to get answers was to ask him directly, but Matthew had made it clear I should drop it.
Told me to stop digging.
Did he know something? Was he hiding something from me?
Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.
That thought sent a cold chill down my spine.
I was still zoning out, staring at the ident report, when there was a knock at the door. Without
thinking, I got up and opened it.
“Didn’t expect anyone to still be here,” said the guy standing outside, looking me over like I was the
last person he thought he’d see.
I blinked at him, totally confused. “Uh, who are you?”
“Demolition office,” he replied, flipping through his notepad. “We’re doing the final check to confirm
everyone’s moved out. Water and power are getting shut off soon, and we’re prepping for
demolition.
“Ms… Keira Kay, right? You’ve already signed the papers. Why haven’t you moved out yet?”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to move. I just couldn’t bring myself to leave.
But I knew 1 couldn’t keep putting it off. “I’ll move today.”
“You have to,” he reminded me, “Once we shut off the water and power, you won’t be able to stay
here anyway.”
Before he left, he threw in onest tip. “No need to lock the door when you’re done.”
After I closed the door behind him, I took a slow look around the apartment. Onest look at what
was left of my parents‘ ce.
Then, with a heavy sigh, I called the movingpany. “Hi, this is Keira Kay. I’d like to confirm my
moving. service for today… Yeah, today’s fine.”
By the time everything was packed up and sent off, it was evening. The new ce I bought after the
demolition notice was now full of boxes. It didn’t feel like home.
I sank into the couch, staring at the unfamiliar walls. My mind felt like a total nk until the backup
phone rang. Not my usual phone–Lena’s backup one. Only she had that number, so I figured it was
her. I answered, sounding more exhausted than I realized. “Hello?”
“Where are you? Hayden’s voice came through,