Chapter 318



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Hayden’s face paled at the sight of the watch in Joseph’s hand.

He lowered his head in an attempt to check under the quilt, but failed to muster the courage to do so.

What had happened last night?

“Whose watch is this?” Joseph slammed the watch against the bed, a fire burning in his eyes.

Hayden groaned as the clock hit him. Though the blanket cushioned the blow, his ankle ached.

Gritting his teeth, he said. “I don’t know.”

He didn’t remember anything that had happened last night, not even how and when he’d gotten back to his room. The only thing he remembered was that he had drunk some tea with milk.

Tea with milk?

Her face changed for an instant. “Lion.”

Joseph’s expression was dark, his hand rummaging through his hair aggressively. Then he bellowed angrily. “Where is he?”

Hayden was frightened. Trembling, he looked at Joseph in panic.

“I don’t know.” He clutched the blanket tightly, stammered, “Last night…. no, impossible… there must be a misunderstanding… don’t panic, I’ll ask the manager.”

She tried to get out of bed, but was suddenly aware that she was naked. She pulled back as she tightened her grip on the blanket.

Staring at her, Joseph leaned forward slightly and grabbed a corner of the blanket.

Wide-eyed, Hayden held the blanket tightly to cover her chest, fear and resistance in her eyes. “No.”

“I thought you said you wanted to ask the manager. You need to get out of bed first.” Joseph said coldly as he pulled the blanket off Hayden’s body.

“Ah…” Hayden shrieked, hurriedly pulled the sheet to cover herself.

“Joseph! You’re such a jerk!”.

Joseph stood beside the bed with such obvious hatred in his eyes. The light behind him cast a shadow over Hayden.

“Think about what you’ve done before you accuse others.”

“I told you I don’t know what happened!” He shouted, his eyes red-rimmed.

Joseph took a deep breath, his eyes full of apathy.

“If you can look me in the eye and tell me that nothing happened in this room last night, then I’ll believe you.”

She looked into his eyes, the aggression and coldness in them stinging.

Under her fierce gaze, he somehow regained his composure.

“Believe me? Really? You believe me? How did you know I’m here? How did you get in here? Such perfect timing! You knew this is a trap and yet you came all by yourself.”

Hayden laughed derisively.

“What else do you want me to say, you think you know what happened, don’t you? I don’t want to lie to you; I don’t even know how I got here last night. If you’re blaming me, who can I blame?”

If she hadn’t seen Amapola at the party and hadn’t argued with Joseph, she wouldn’t have wandered the streets, wouldn’t have run into Leon, and wouldn’t have ended up sleeping in a hotel.

Who really to blame?

Wrapping the sheet around her, she got out of bed and gathered her clothes, heading for the bathroom.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Joseph grabbed her arm.

Angrily, she lost her sanity and couldn’t think of all the innuendo. All he could think about was that Hayden was naked under the sheet.

“You don’t have to understand.” She took a deep breath, feigning calm, “This is it, what else can you do?”.

Her watery eyes showed her complaint. But, still, she would not lay down her pride.

One thought of Joseph’s would decide her end.

He said word for word, his face grim and his knuckles white.

“Look what you have done, even if you ask me what I can do.” The blood rushed to their eyes.

Hayden told him sharply. “Well if you don’t believe me, finish me anyway, it’s not the first time.”

When she said she wanted to break up, she barely had any feelings. So much fuss was nothing compared to the recent trauma she had been through.

Even what might happen last night hit her harder than breaking up with Joseph.

“What did you say?”

“Break up with me.” She kept her head down, “I said it straight. Go find Noah’s mother, she’s loved and disciplined, she’s a better woman than me.”

She yanked her arm out of Joseph’s hand as she finished.

But then she felt a sudden pain in her shoulder and stumbled. The next thing she saw was the ceiling; she fell onto the bed.

Staring at Hayden, Joseph squeezed her shoulder with his right hand and leaned back with his left.

Hayden gripped the sheet tightly. “What are you doing?”

“You think breaking up with me is easier than explaining what happened last night?” Joseph gritted his teeth: “For you breaking up is always the solution to everything?”.

He didn’t think Hayden would betray him, but people lose their composure. When he received an anonymous call earlier in the day, he was worrying that Hayden had run into some trouble, not that she had cheated on him.

When he finally arrived after running red lights and knew she was safe, he was relieved. But then he saw something that plunged him into coldness.

“I’ll figure this out and I’ll decide whether we’re done or not.”

Her words reverberated through the room. Hayden felt the weight on her lessen and then she heard Joseph slam the door.

The knock brought her back to the present.

Feelings stirred inside her as she slowly sat up and stared at the closed door.

Tears slid down her cheeks.

Since her birth, her life had been like a train wreck, never knowing where it was headed.

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