Chapter 5
Zara never imagined she would be at Hayden’s apartment on the day she broke up with Jonathan. Yet, she realized she had no energy left to worry about such things.
Hayden noticed the abnormal flush on Zara’s face and instantly touched her forehead. It was scalding hot. “You have a fever.”
His expression dimmed at Zara. It was odd that he seemed so upset when Zara was supposed to be the one who was ill.
Zara calmly held his gaze without directly answering his question. “You don’t need to worry about me, Hayden. I just broke up with Jonathan. That’s all.”
Hayden stiffened but couldn’t say anything because Zara had fainted by then. He instinctively reached out to pull her into his tight embrace. A helpless sigh left his lips a long
while later.
Zara had been in the rain twice, so she had developed a fever for some time. Amidst her half–conscious state, she could vaguely sense someone was looking after her. That person had fed her medicine, wiped her sweat with a warm towel, and given her a warm hug that never seemed to end.
Her fever soon subsided, and she finally regained consciousness. That was when a weight pressed against her body, awakening her.
She gradually opened her eyes while inhaling Hayden’s pleasant scent at the tip of her nose. Then, she felt a feather–like touch on her lips. Her eyes snapped wide finally took in what was happening.
Hayden was kissing her…?
In the next second, Hayden looked up to meet Zara’s shocked gaze.
open as she
What happened next was expected of Hayden, the most unattainably handsome man Zara knew. He remained unfazed when he got caught kissing her. On top of that, he even continued to hold her hand.
Zara’s fever had just subsided, so she wasn’t fully conscious. “W–Why did you kiss me…?”
Hayden stared into her eyes and was briefly silent before speaking up. “Because I have feelings for you.”
That was when Zara’s brain blanked, and she could no longer process anything.
As for Hayden, he cut to the chase and confessed his feelings for Zara. His eyes fixed on her unwaveringly as if he was determined to obtain her. “Zara, I’ve liked you since eight years ago and before Jonathan did. You and him got together before I could confess my feelings. Now that you two have broken up, I don’t plan on letting you go again.” Shock filled Zara’s mind as she thought, “Hayden’s liked me since eight years ago? And he had feelings for me long before Jonathan did?”
Hayden inched closer to her. His cold expression, which had never been fazed by anything in this world, magnified in her eyes. Following that, he teased her with a playful and flirtatious tone that she thought only regular people had. “I’d like to continue our kiss. If you want, Zara, I can be responsible for everything.”
Zara stared into his eyes. “How do you plan on being responsible?”
“I can make you my wife,” he answered straightforwardly and with a stern expression. It was clear to anyone that he wasn’t joking.
1
Zara studied him in silence. She reflected on her eight–year–long relationship, which she had proposed three times. In the end, all Zara got was an “I’m over it” from Jonathan. Meanwhile, Hayden was willing to give her the one thing she eagerly wanted with such ease.
The world seemed too much like a joke to her.
Even so, Hayden continued to gaze at her with deep affection. It forced her to be unable to look away, much less calm her mind and think.
“Only by being with me will Jonathan stop bothering you,” Hayden pointed out.
Zara had to admit he was good at knowing people’s deepest desires.
As expected, Zara ultimately shut her eyes, grabbed Hayden’s necktie, and kissed him. “Bear the responsibility, then.”
…
Jonathan awoke in his ward the next day, only to realize he was alone. Zara didn’t come back.
He later heard that Zara had gone home to get changed. Yet, why hadn’t she returned after an entire night?
Jonathan felt inexplicably irritated to see that Zara wasn’t by his side when he was injured. He was about to call her when he saw the text she had sent him yesterday.
Her text read, “You first burned for me, yet your passionate flame was also the first to die down. Meanwhile, your interest in Harper developed slowly, but you couldn’t stop it. Now, your feelings for her won’t stop boiling over.
“How could I have believed someone like you would sincerely love me back then? Let’s break up, Jonathan.”
It was a short and simple text, yet it dealt a heavy blow to Jonathan. He couldn’t even digest what she had texted at that moment. Was Zara breaking up with him?
A ringing filled his ears as he realized he couldn’t accept it. The words “break up” cut deep into his heart and left behind a gaping hole.
He kept calling Zara’s phone but never got through to her. With every call he made, Zara kept declining on the other end.
Jonathan’s heart drummed in his chest, and his fear of losing Zara spread throughout his body. He couldn’t care less about his injuries as he ripped the IV drip from his arm and was about to rush out.
That was when Cole and Harper came into the ward. They were shocked to see him getting out of bed.
“Have you lost your mind, Jonathan?” Cole snapped.
Yet, Jonathan didn’t pay them any mind. He bellowed, “Get out of my way!”
He then tolerated the grueling pain from his injuries and rushed home. Alas, when he arrived home, he realized every item that had to do with Zara was gone.
His gaze trembled, the uneasiness in his heart almost swallowing him whole. He wondered if Zara was serious. Was she genuinely breaking up with him?
The more Jonathan thought about it, the more he panicked. He brought out his phone to call Zara again.
This time, the call connected.
Jonathan felt relieved and spoke up at once. “Zara?1-”
Before he could say anything else, a male voice rang out on the other end.
The latter had deliberately lowered his voice to say, “Last night wore her out, so she’s asleep now. Don’t wake her up.”
That shook Jonathan to his core. He recognized the voice as Hayden’s and wondered why Zara was with him.
His eyes reddened murderously. He balled his fists with so much might that he almost crushed his phone. “Where is she?”
Hayden took his time saying, “At my place. In my bed.”
Jonathan’s face turned stormy, and his eyes opened wide with fury. He snarled through gritted teeth, “Do you even know what you’re saying, Hayden?”
Hayden gazed down at Zara, who was still asleep, before quietly leaving the room. Even as he stood there and said nothing, he still came off as frostier and more hostile than a blizzard. Eventually, he replied, “I do. Also, she and I are getting married.”
Those words were like a catalyst that started an entire war.
Jonathan’s veins bulged as he punched the wall hard. His eyes turned bright red and almost seemed like they would bleed due to his immense rage.
ཟ F ཇ ༦ ཇ ཅ
Cole and Harper finally caught up to him. Concerned frowns marred their faces when they saw him that way. They wondered what was up with him.
Jonathan had once behaved this way a long time ago. It was so long ago that Cole almost forgot who could cause Jonathan to put on such a ferocious expression.
Cole cautiously asked, “Jonathan, did something happen to Zara?”
Jonathan gradually looked up at the former upon hearing that. He was so menacing that it frightened Cole into taking one step back.
Only Harper had the nerve to approach Jonathan in that situation. She pouted, feeling confident that things had gone her way. Then, she tenderly tugged on the hem of Jonathan’s shirt. “Jonathan, did you and your friend argue over me and Zara? Please don’t fight anymore. It’s all my fault.”
Yet, all she got in return was Jonathan’s vicious scowl. It took great effort from him to say, “Get lost.”
The former’s threatening attitude and tone startled Harper so much that she quivered. Even so, she pretended not to notice.
Jonathan only focused on replying to Hayden, who was on the other end of the call. “I’m warning you. Zara loved me eight years ago, and she’ll continue to love me now, even when eight years have passed.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re offering help to her in a time of need, or if you’re trying to win over her affections while she’s emotionally vulnerable. Zara will never marry you.”
Hayden snorted, feeling completely unbothered by the former’s words. “Sure. I’ll see you at the wedding, then.”
After that, he ended the call.
Jonathan’s face darkened as he kept trying to reach Zara’s phone again. Alas, his calls were never answered again.
Meanwhile, Cole saw what had happened and knew Jonathan deserved this outcome. He had a feeling Jonathan would suffer in the future ever since he heard Jonathan say, “I’m over it,” in the hospital.
After all, how could someone whose feelings had changed receive the same devotion from their lover as always? Not to mention, Zara had already done more than enough for Jonathan up until then.
Cole ultimately phoned Jonathan’s assistant, Joel, to take Jonathan back to the hospital. As for him, he rolled his eyes at Harper before leaving the place for good. The one thing he hated the most was a mistress who interfered with a couple’s relationship.
After Cole left, Harper wanted to throw herself against Jonathan’s chest. Yet, Jonathan shoved her away. Seeing that he was about to leave her again, she summoned the courage to follow and question him. “Where are you going, Jonathan? Your wounds haven’t healed!”
Jonathan’s brows drew close as he snapped, “Didn’t I tell you to get lost?”
That aggressive tone made Harper feel like Jonathan now had the upper hand and not her. She gave it some thought, then whined like she had been wronged. “I was only worried about your health. Fine, I’ll leave if you find me too annoying!”
However, Jonathan only had Zara in his heart at that moment. He felt that Zara had always loved him like she did eight years ago. Why would she break up with him overnight and get involved with Hayden?
That was when he froze midstep.
Harper, who was pretending to cry, thought Jonathan had finally regained his senses. She waited for him to console her.
Just then, Jonathan’s head snapped back at her, and he gripped her wrist tautly. It was as though he were trying to crush her wrist bones to dust.
“Did you tell Zara anything?” He narrowed his eyes sinisterly at Harper while he spoke with a biting tone. He seemed to be sure that Harper was the culprit behind this.
Harper was so scared that she cowered and stiffened on the spot. The sharp pain in her wrist caused her to grimace pitifully. She murmured, “How could I have told Zara anything, Jonathan?
“Besides, I was outside your ward, handling your admission procedures while Zara looked after you. I didn’t have the time to speak with her at all. You can check the hospital’s surveillance footage if you don’t believe me.”
Jonathan’s confidence dwindled right after seeing the former’s unwavering claims.
Immediately after that, Harper’s heart softened. She put on a pained expression while mewing, “You’re hurting me, Jonathan…”
Only then did Jonathan release her hand in a panic.
It was also then that he recalled not seeing Zara when he first awoke in his ward. Could it be that Zara had just left when he woke up?
If so, what happened next made his chest tighten. He recalled what he had said to Cole in the ward-“I’m over it.”
Could it be that Zara had overheard him saying that? And was that why she had asked to break up with him?
He then shot a complicated stare at Harper, who stood beside him. The longer he stared at her, the more displeased he felt with her.
Harper’s appearance had indeed made his life fun after eight monotonous years. She also sparked a refreshing desire and thrill in him, which he used to feel when he first liked
Zara.
However, as all of this happened, he never considered what would happen to Zara. That was because he had gotten used to having her beside him.
It was commonly known that mistresses were good at reading a man’s mind, which applied to Harper. She seized this chance when Jonathan’s heart was in a fragile state.
E
Chapter 5
3/3.
She said, “I may not know what happened between you and Zara, but I think Zara probably misunderstood us. I know she’s actually a good person.
“So, please calm down and get your wounds dealt with at the hospital first, Jonathan. It won’t be too late to find Zara and ask her for an explanation afterward.”
She leaned against his chest, her eyes slightly reddening like she had gone through a lot.
Jonathan slowly numbed his feelings and trusted what Harper had told him.
After all, Zara had liked Jonathan for the past eight years. Jonathan believed she would likely approach him for an explanation after hearing him say he was over their relationship.
“She’ll do that instead of getting involved with another man so abruptly! Yeah, that’s what she’ll definitely do!” he mused, trying to
convince himself that was the case.
Seeing that Jonathan trusted her, Harper continued to bawl her eyes out and act worried about his health.
Jonathan wasn’t as hostile to Harper this time. Instead, he apologized for his behavior earlier.
Harper put on an understanding front and replied, “It’s okay, Jonathan. I knew you were only acting that way because you were anxious. I don’t blame you.” Despite her words, an inconcealable smugness flashed deep in her eyes.
