Chapter 5

Vienna's POV

When I opened my eyes again, it was that suffocating white once more.

The smell of disinfectant drilled into my nostrils. I moved my fingers and discovered someone was tightly gripping my hand.

Hayden sat by the bed, his eyes full of bloodshot veins, his chin sprouting dark stubble. His entire being radiated a decadent, broken feeling.

Seeing me awake, the joy in his eyes hadn't yet fully bloomed before it was drowned by thick guilt and pain.

"Vienna, you're awake..."

His voice was hoarse. The hand gripping mine was trembling, his eyes instantly rimming red.

"Why...why did you hide it from me? If I'd known you were pregnant, I never would have treated you like that. That was my child too..."

I looked at him.

I gently pulled my hand back and rubbed it against the sheet.

"Tell you?"

My voice was hoarse.

"When? At the hospital, while you held Grace and wiped her lipstick? At the elevator, while you pushed me toward a knife to save her? Or maybe...when Grace shoved me down the stairs?"

Hayden froze. He opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.

"I..."

Hayden awkwardly turned his face away.

"I know I wronged you, but I really didn't know... I'm devastated too. That was the child we'd hoped for for four years."

He paused, then explained:

"Besides, Grace didn't mean it. She was just too frightened, so she accidentally pushed you. You also slapped her-her face is still swollen... Let's just let this matter go, okay? We're still young. We can have children later."

Let it go?

A human life, plus my brother's belongings-in his mouth, could all be dismissed with "you also slapped her"?

Ridiculous and pathetic.

I closed my eyes, not even having the strength to mock:

"Get out."

Hayden didn't leave.

Perhaps to make up for the guilt in his heart, over the next few days he set aside all company business and stayed by my hospital room without leaving.

Hayden, who had never taken care of anyone, learned to test the temperature of my porridge and feed me himself. He learned to peel apples in one perfect strip. He even had expensive supplements stewed and coaxed me to drink them three times a day.

"Vienna, this just arrived from home. The temperature is perfect. Have a sip."

I leaned against the headboard, staring at the withered yellow leaves outside the window.

Just then, Hayden's phone on the bedside table vibrated again.

This was already the fifth time today.

Hayden glanced at the caller ID, his brow furrowing slightly, but he still answered.

"Hayden..."

Grace's weak, tearful voice was especially clear in the quiet hospital room.

"I had a nightmare. I dreamed that psycho was chasing me with a knife... I'm so scared. Can you come back and keep me company?"

The previous times it was "dizziness," "wound pain," "the power went out at home."The reasons varied wildly, but the goal was only one-she wanted to prove she could summon him away at any time.

Hayden glanced at me, somewhat hesitant:

"Grace, I'm at the hospital..."

"Don't come! Hayden, save me!"

A scream suddenly came through the phone, followed by a crash of things shattering.

Hayden's expression changed drastically. He stood up abruptly:

"Grace?! What happened? Don't be scared, I'll be right back!"

He hung up, hastily set the still-steaming nutritional supplement on the table, and looked at me somewhat flustered:

"Vienna, something seems to have happened with Grace. I need to check on her. Eat while it's hot. I'll come back after I handle this."

With that, he grabbed his coat and rushed out of the hospital room like the wind, not even waiting for my response.

The door swung shut, bringing in a gust of cold air.

I slowly turned my head and looked at the bowl of soup on the table, growing cold.

It was always like this.

The moment Grace crooked her finger, his guilt, his promises, his vows all became a joke. Gone in an instant.

I picked up the bowl and poured it into the trash.

Cold food, I don't eat.

Dirty men, I don't want either