Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right

Chapter

321

Yuna totally understood how serious things were. If this surgery worked, it was like hitting the reset button on her life. If not, well, all this would just turn into a memory.

"You've got plenty of time for days like this," I said, leaning my head against hers. "Seriously. Trust me."

But then, out of nowhere, she switched gears. "Keira, don't be too hard on Hayden. He's stubborn, yeah, and not exactly Mr. Feelings, but he means well. So, go easy on him, okay?"

I thought she was spiraling about the surgery and was ready to reassure her when she kept going. you've been low-key punishing him lately."

"I know

Her words hit, and I felt my face heat up. I gave her a playful poke. "Where do you even come up with this stuff? Stop overthinking."

"Don't let my age fool you. I've read many romance novels. I know exactly what's going on here," Yuna said with this confident little smirk.

I didn't even try to deny it. "Yeah, well, he acted all tough, so I let him. Besides, he's been single for over thirty years-he can survive a little cold shoulder. You don't have to feel bad for him."

"He's my brother. Of course I care about him," Yuna said, licking her ice cream. "Hayden's the best brother in the world-and honestly? The best guy too."

Her words hit me right in the feels, and I almost teared up. "I'll take care of your brother, I promise

"I know," she said. "I could tell the second I saw you."

Wow, she really had a way with words,

"So, stop overthinking and focus on getting better. Once you're healthy, we can spoil Hayden together- make him the happiest man in the world," I teased, giving her a little nudge. "Okay, pinky promise on that," Yuna grinned, holding out her hand.

I laughed, linking my pinky with hers. "You're such a kid,

But then she hit me with, "Could you take me to the hospital today? I wanna get better, like, as soon as possible."

Her request threw me off. "No rush. Let's do the hotel today," I said, wanting to give her more of the world -knowing she wasn't chasing fancy stuff, just the pure excitement of experiencing life outside her bubble. She shook her head, determined. "I'll go after I'm better. But when I do, I want to stay in the best hotel here

the one where I can reach out and touch the stars."

Her words hit me so hard, my eyes stung. "Alright," I said softly, "I'll find you a place where you can lie back and just... stare at the stars."

In the end, we couldn't argue with Yuna's decision to go to the hospital, so Hayden and I took her there.

J shot Lena a quick message, and by the time we arrived, she was already waiting to take us straight to

the inpatient ward. Hayden handled all the paperwork.

Once everything was set, Yuna started waving us off. "You guys should just go home."

Chapter

+25 BONUS

"I'm staying right here," Hayden sald firmly.

But Yuna wasn't having it. "If you stay with me, what about Keira?" she teased, and Lena totally lost it, cracking up.

And Yuna wasn't done. "Go be with Keira! Don't forget, you promised me a niece or nephew. You and Keira better get to work on that. But, you know, mostly you gotta try harder." Pift-

This time, even I couldn't keep it together.

Lena and I were still laughing when Hayden's ears turned that telltale shade of red. He walked over and gently tapped Yuna on the forehead. "Watch your mouth."

Yuna immediately turned to me. "Keira, Hayden's being mean to me."

I was just about to pull Hay

away when the door swung open-and in walked Nate.

Dressed in white, he had this effortless glow that made me do a full double take. I mean, wow, the guy looked good.

Even Lena seemed caught off guard. "Nate, what are you doing here so late?"

"I'm here to check on the patient," Nate said, flashing a smile as he moved to Yuna's bedside. Her eyes lit up, practically sparkling, totally locked on him..