Finally, Jace had picked up on something off about Wayne.


    I took a sip, buying time. “Why don’t you ask him yourself? I don’t have the energy to think about


    anyone right now.”


    His face went t. “Yeah, you don’t have to keep reminding me.”


    “Just being honest,” I shrugged, then coughed, and Jace reached over, patting my back.


    “Does Hayden even know you got hurt?” His question hit right where it hurt.


    I held the cup in my hands, the warmth chasing away the chill in my body but doing nothing for the


    cold ache in my chest. “He came… then he left.”


    Jace didn’t say anything, so I handed the cup back. “I’m exhausted. I need to sleep.”


    Iy down, and he stayed right there, just sitting by my side. My fever made my eyelids feel heavy,


    and as


    I drifted off, I thought I heard him murmur, “You didn’t seem this broken when we broke up.”


    Seriously? He was still hung up on that?


    But he wasn’t wrong. Breaking up with him hadn’t hurt the way this did.


    “Maybe it’s because you hurt me slowly, over and over, til I just got numb to it,” I mumbled, half–


    asleep, and rolled over, finally slipping under.


    I woke up to the smell of food, and my stomach growled. Opening my eyes, I saw Jace scrolling


    through his phone,pletely absorbed. He hadn’t even noticed I was awake.


    Seeing the food on the table, I tried to sit up, but the pain made me gasp.


    Jace’s head snapped up, and he tossed his phone aside, rushing over. “You’re awake! Why didn’t


    you call


    Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    me?”


    “I’m starving.” I muttered, not wasting words.


    He chuckled. “Figured you would be. Some things never change. Every time you had a cold or a


    fever, the first thing you’d want when you woke up was food.”


    He wasn’t wrong. Most people lose their appetite when they’re sick; I just got hungrier.


    Back then, Lindey used to tease me,ughing, “A fever isn’t a real illness for you; it’s just an excuse


    to eat.”


    As he talked, Jace reached over to feel my forehead. “Fever’s gone.”


    He handed me a wet wipe to clean my hands and started opening up the food containers he’d


    brought.


    I didn’t even have to ask–everything inside was something I loved.


    Even though Jace hadn’t loved me deeply in those ten years together, he’d always remembered my


    favorite foods.


    On the tray sat a caramelized mushroom and kale sd, celeriac, pear, and butter bean soup, and


    gnhi -dishes I hadn’t had in forever but had been craving.


    Since Hayden and I broke up, nothing had tasted thisforting. Sure, I could order anything I


    wanted from a restaurant, but nothing quite tasted like home. Or, really, like Hayden’s cooking.


    He’d spoiled me, and now I was left to fend for myself


    The thought made my chest ache, a weird mix of bitterness, anger, and longing.


    “This wasn’t from a restaurant. My mom made it,” Jace sald, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked


    up, surprised.


    He smirked. “Rx. I didn’t tell her about you almost getting swept away. She just knew you


    missed her gnhi earlier, so I asked her to make something special and said I’d bring it to you


    myself.”


    I let out a quiet breath, feeling relieved but guilty. Lindey’s kindness had always been such a steady


    warmth, and I hated the thought of worrying her, even indirectly.


    Of course, Jace noticed. “Alright, stop looking so emotional. Put that energy into eating and getting


    better.


    He handed me a fork, and I took it, but instead of digging in, I set it aside. “Water first, please.”


    Maybe it was from swallowing all that dirty water earlier, but my throat felt raw, like something sharp


    was stuck there, making it hard to swallow.