Chapter 153 - 151: The Little Mermaid
Hayes Hughes was distracted the entire way. When the elevator doors opened, Dr. Murray walked out a few steps before realizing it was silent behind him and turning around in surprise.
Hayes Hughes was still in the elevator.
"Dr. Hughes?"
Hayes Hughes snapped back to reality and finally stepped out.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Hayes Hughes shook his head slightly. After a pause, he said, "I have to go find Mr. Wallace about something. You go on ahead."
"Ah... oh, okay."
Dr. Murray watched him leave with a bewildered expression.
"Mr. Wallace!"
In the underground parking garage, Mr. Wallace paused. "Hayes, do you need something from me?"
Hayes Hughes stopped, quickly catching his breath, and asked, "Sorry to bother you for a couple of minutes, but I’d like to ask about Kian Keller’s condition."
"Are you close with him?"
Mr. Wallace was puzzled.
Hayes Hughes pursed his lips. He didn’t want to lie, so he could only offer a tactful reply: "He’s good friends with my older brother."
"Oh, I see." Mr. Wallace nodded. "Well, you know what they say—it takes a hundred days for broken bones to mend. And that’s especially true for a car accident as severe as his."
"But he’s just too stubborn. His bones haven’t even healed properly, and he’s already rushing to get up and walk. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Sigh. It’s like he doesn’t even feel the pain."
"It’s a good thing he was brought back in time. If he keeps this up, that leg of his will be ruined for good."
"He’s still in the hospital now?"
"Yes. Are you going to see him?" Mr. Wallace told him the floor number. "I just did my rounds, and he’s resting right now. You could go tomorrow."
"Okay, thank you."
"Something else?" Mr. Wallace sensed he hadn’t finished speaking.
Hayes Hughes considered for a moment, then asked, "Will there be any long-term effects?"
"It’s hard to say. If he keeps ignoring medical advice like this, he’ll probably be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life."
—
On the sofa, Mia Grant was hugging a bag of potato chips, dozing off.
The moment Hayes Hughes walked in the door, he heard sounds from the living room. She was watching a variety show, and laughter filled the air.
Flickering light and shadows filled the room as he walked in. His gaze fell on the small figure curled up on the sofa.
She was nodding off, a blanket draped over her, her head bobbing up and down like a chicken pecking at grain.
’She knows perfectly well where the bedroom is, yet she insists on sitting here waiting foolishly.’ The dinner he had ordered for her was untouched on the table, still warm.
Hayes Hughes stood in front of the floor lamp, momentarily forgetting to move. He just watched her from a distance, and all his exhaustion seemed to melt away.
’A sense of peace he had never felt before filled his heart. He was used to being on his own; it had been a long time since he’d felt the warmth of a home. From the time he left for his studies to when he started working, he had always come back to an empty house. He had always been alone. He never thought that one day, there would be someone waiting for him to come home.’
This continued until the bag of chips in her arms fell to the floor with a THUD.
The girl woke with a start, jerking upright and staring blankly at the TV screen. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. She rubbed her eyes and, forcing herself to stay awake, bent over to pick up the fallen bag.
Her lower body didn’t move from the sofa as she stretched out her arm, desperately trying to grab the bag of chips. ’Almost there, just a little bit more...’
"Careful, you’re going to fall."
A familiar voice spoke, laced with a helpless yet doting sigh. Before she could look up, the figure had already strolled over to her, and the light in front of her dimmed.
She blinked, watching as he crouched down, picked up the chips before she could, and carefully cleaned up the crumbs that had scattered nearby.
Then, Mia Grant realized just how ridiculous her current posture was.
Both of her hands were planted on the floor, her upper body almost completely suspended in the air, while her legs seemed to be glued to the sofa. It was utterly comical.
Her face flushed with embarrassment. She quickly tried to pull back and sit up properly, but her arms gave out, leaving her stuck in place.
Just as she was hesitating, wondering if she should just crawl all the way down, a soft chuckle came from above. An arm tightened around her waist, and Hayes Hughes scooped her back onto the sofa.
Hearing his laughter, Mia’s cheeks grew hot. She pulled the blanket higher, refusing to meet his eyes. "Hayes, why didn’t you make a sound when you came back...?"
"I thought you were asleep."
Mia frowned, shot him a look of mock annoyance, and mumbled something under her breath.
"What was that?" Hayes Hughes hadn’t heard clearly and leaned closer.
"I—" Seeing his features up close, Mia’s words caught in her throat, and she instinctively held her breath.
"I said... I must have looked really... weird just now. And you saw everything..."
"Not at all." Hayes Hughes smiled and ruffled her hair. "You looked like a little mermaid stranded on the beach. How could that be weird?"
The tips of Mia’s ears turned red. She stammered for a while, not knowing how to reply. Suppressing the flutter of joy in her heart, she feigned composure and just said, "Oh."
"Why haven’t you eaten?"
"I wasn’t very hungry, so I thought I’d wait for you to come back so we could eat together."
Hayes Hughes gently pinched her hot ear and chuckled. "You’ve worked hard, my dear Mia. Come on, I’ll carry you to dinner."
He lifted her from the sofa. Mia cried out in surprise and quickly wrapped her arms around him, her legs tangling around his waist as well.
Hayes faltered in his stride.
The girl’s legs were hooked around his waist, wrapped so tightly he could even feel his ribs being squeezed.
But for some reason, he didn’t feel any pain at all. Instead, it was a strange physical reaction... one that quickly swept through his entire body.
Hayes Hughes lowered his eyes to look at her face. The girl was clinging to his neck, her head resting on his shoulder, revealing only a sliver of her fair neck.
And the glaring red mark on it.
Almost instantly, Hayes Hughes averted his gaze. As if nothing had happened, he carried her to the dining room and set her down in a chair.
During the meal, Hayes Hughes was silent, only occasionally placing food on her plate.
When he saw that she was almost finished eating, he finally got to the point.
"I heard about the engagement party."
’Mia must have been looking for me because of this,’ he thought.
Judging by her reaction, he was right.
Hayes Hughes smiled at her, trying to soothe her. "Don’t worry, I’ve already spoken with my aunt. If you’re not willing, the engagement is off."
Mia Grant lowered her head. "Hayes, I came to you because I wanted to talk about this."
"Actually, I’m doing this willingly."
"..."
A soft clink came from across the table as the man set down his chopsticks.
After a brief silence, Hayes Hughes said with a smile:
"It seems to me, Mia, that you might not actually be that fond of your classmate from the Sinclair family."
"If it’s because of my aunt..."
"It’s not." Mia Grant shook her head.
The curve of Hayes Hughes’s lips gradually faded. Just before his smile disappeared completely, Mia explained.
But after hearing her explanation, Hayes Hughes’s expression showed no signs of softening.
He wasn’t smiling. He wore no expression at all, simply watching her in silence as if weighing something in his mind.
After a long moment, he asked in a calm voice, "May I ask why it has to be him?"
Mia Grant looked lost.
Hayes continued, "If you’re just trying to escape your predicament by tying yourself to someone for life... Mia, you have far more options than just this one."