Well, if his goal was to make my heart shatter just a little more… mission aplished.


    Two hourster, after all the tests, I spotted Yuna and Hayden in the waiting area.


    Yuna rushed over and grabbed my hand. “How are you feeling? Are you hurt anywhere?”


    “No,” I lied with a smile. “The doctor said I must have, like, superpowers or something–no injuries,


    not


    even a scratch.”


    Truth was, I had scrapes and bruises all over, but I wasn’t about to make her feel worse. She


    already felt guilty enough that I’d almost gotten swept away saving her, and I wasn’t going to make


    it worse by telling her the details. Besides, Hayden had already made it clear he was done with me.


    “I don’t believe you,” Yuna said, reaching to check for herself.


    I pressed her hands down gently. “Yuna, I’m exhausted I just want to sleep for a while. Really, I’m


    fine. Go home and get some rest.”


    “I’m not leaving,” she insisted. “I’ll stay here with you. Hayden’s here too.”


    She tugged at his arm, trying to pull him closer, but I looked away as he stepped over, refusing to


    meet his


    eyes.


    “Let’s step outside,” he murmured to Yuna.


    A minuteter, I could hear her voice through the door, sharp and using. “Hayden, what’s going


    on with you and Keira?


    “Did you guys have a fight? Even if you did, she almost died saving me.


    “How can you be so cold toward her?”


    Her words hit like a punch to the chest, sharp enough to bring tears to my eyes. I turned my head


    into the pillow, letting them soak into the fabric.


    “I told


    you there was going to be a storm,” Hayden’s voice came, low and tense. “I specifically asked you


    not to go to the library. Why didn’t you listen?”


    Yuna went quiet. I knew that guilty silence.


    “And why was Keira there? Hmm?” he continued, his tone getting sharper. “If you’d just listened,


    none of this would’ve happened.”


    Each word hit harder, Yuna staying quiet as he finished his lecture.


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    Then, in a small but steady voice, she asked, “Did you really break up with Keira? Why?”


    Silence.


    “Did you do something to hurt her?” she pressed, her voice breaking. “Or are you just done with her


    now that you’ve got money and status?”


    Her words hit me like a punch to the chest, cutting right to the questions I’d been too scared to ask.


    ‘Don’t involve yourself in this, Yuna,” Hayden replied, dodging her question.


    “Hayden Hart,” she shot back, her voice climbing with frustration. “I know you’re different now, but I


    warned you–if you ever changed, I’d stop calling you my brother.”


    “So, are you done with me, then?” he asked, voice cold,


    Yuna didn’t miss a beat. “If you make things right with Keira, you’ll still be my brother,” she said,


    laying it out as clear as an ultimatum.


    Silence. But she didn’t let it go, her voice breaking. “You love her, Hayden. I know you do…” “Yuna,”


    he cut in, his tone harsh, “loving someone doesn’t mean you’re meant to be together.” That


    sentence shattered something in me. Tears slid down my face, unstoppable.


    So that was it. He’d made up his mind. If he didn’t want to be with me, fine. I wasn’t so weak that !


    couldn’t live without him. I wasn’t about to beg.


    Angrily, I yanked the nket over my head, blocking out their conversation from outside. The air


    under the covers was stifling, pressing against my chest, but I’d rather suffocate here than keep


    hearing Hayden’s cold, indifferent words.


    Just as I started to settle into the quiet, someone tugged on my nket. I wiped at my tears quickly,


    thinking it was Yuna.


    “What, you survived the flood just to smother yourself now?” came a voice from outside the covers,


    totally catching me off guard.


    It wasn’t Yuna. And, of course, it wasn’t Hayden.


    Honestly, right then, I would’ve preferred either of them over the one person who’d just shown up.