Mia Grant didn’t know why Hayes Hughes had wanted to die with her.
She had thought it was just because his moral compass was too strong, a result of overwhelming guilt.
But Yates Donovan told her that wasn’t it.
If it had just been guilt, Hayes Hughes wouldn’t have tried to hold her hand as he ended his life.
’So, was it love?’
’Really?’
Mia Grant didn’t know...
Because until the very end, she had never heard a confession from Hayes Hughes.
Before that, she had never realized he was in love with her.
She had always thought he was just that gentle and polite to everyone, so she was no different in his eyes.
She even thought that because of Serena Grant, Hayes Hughes might have actually detested her, but was just too proper to show it.
If she had known from the start that Hayes Hughes loved her too, she definitely wouldn’t have sought him out.
Sighing with wistful regret, she pressed a hand to her heart.
Her gaze returned to Silas Grant.
The man asked what she had dreamed about that made her use the word "unexpectedly."
Mia Grant blinked her stinging eyes and asked softly, "Brother, you’ve known Yates Donovan for so many years. What kind of person do you think he is?"
Silas Grant gave her a deep look, his expression unreadable.
After a pause, he answered, "He’s a bit like you."
"A free spirit, carefree in nature."
That wasn’t what Mia Grant wanted to hear. "Everyone says he’s crazy. Is that true?"
"Perhaps," Silas Grant said. "Very few people can figure out what he’s thinking. He probably doesn’t even understand himself."
"Some of his decisions are made on a whim. He acts without considering the consequences, without weighing the gains and losses."
"I haven’t heard of him doing anything too out of line recently. But in his early years, he was ’infamous’ in Jynsia. Most people would steer clear of him on sight."
Silas Grant didn’t try to slander Yates Donovan just because he was his rival in love.
What he said was basically the consensus opinion of Yates within their circle.
Lying in bed, Mia Grant sighed silently at his words.
’So, he really is crazy.’
’The him from the last world... that was his true self.’
’But the him in this world, for some reason, has actually learned restraint.’
Although she knew he wasn’t a good person, seeing what he had done to her in the last world still shocked her.
She had thought Kian Keller or Silas Grant were the types to enjoy games of confinement and forced love.
But looking at both worlds, only Yates Donovan was "bad" to the core.
In comparison, Kian Keller and Silas Grant had far more self-control than he did.
At least those two never had the heart to intimidate her.
But that lunatic, Yates...
’That scoundrel!’
"Dreamed that he bullied you?" Silas Grant brushed a stray hair from her face, quickly reading her mind.
"I get it now. He’s the real wolf in sheep’s clothing."
She also understood now why the system had said that the Yates from the last world ultimately chose to leave her in this one.
Because the Yates of this world was so, so good to her...
It was as if he knew something in advance, which was why he feigned magnanimity, proclaimed himself the main consort, and acted completely unbothered by the other men around her.
It seemed he was constantly atoning for his self from the previous world.
’I wonder if he remembers any of it now.’
Suddenly, Mia Grant remembered something.
She hadn’t seen Yates Donovan since she woke up in the afternoon.
She only knew from Zelo that Yates was okay.
’He’s supposedly been right outside the door. Why hasn’t he come in...?’
Her words made Silas Grant chuckle. "You want to see him?"
Mia Grant snapped back to reality and looked at him. "If I nod, will you be angry?"
She felt Silas probably wouldn’t be, or even if he was, he wouldn’t say it out loud.
But as if to deliberately contradict her, the man looked at her and replied very seriously, "I will be."
Mia Grant blinked. "Sorry, Brother."
She reached out and hugged his waist.
Silas Grant smiled and patted her back. "So, see him tomorrow. He’s alive and kicking, completely uninjured."
She agreed.
"Let me tell you a bedtime story, okay?"
"Okay."
Mia Grant gently closed her eyes.
Silas Grant’s attempts to lull her to sleep had always worked wonders. She’d known that since her days in Portia.
The secret to her sleeping so well since returning to Jynsia was that she had recorded his voice.
Back in Portia, Silas Grant had specially bought several children’s picture books just to read her bedtime stories.
That was when her sleep disorder was at its worst; the slightest sound could shatter her peace of mind.
So, he quickly memorized the stories in them.
Every night, there was no longer the sound of pages turning, only his low, magnetic voice.
Mia Grant had marveled more than once at how incredibly sexy his voice was when he told bedtime stories in Cantonese.
Even though she couldn’t understand a word of Cantonese.
Just like now, she actually had no idea what story Silas Grant was telling.
Even if he was just making it up, she wouldn’t be able to tell. Yet he still took the time to memorize them seriously.
And he managed to tell a different story every night.
Mia Grant thought back. In all her life, it seemed not even her mother had ever told her a bedtime story.
’So this is what it feels like.’
Feeling the arms around his waist tighten, Silas Grant continued telling the story without a pause in his voice, pretending not to have noticed anything.
But the hand on her back began to stroke her gently, intentionally or not, its touch as light as a feather settling on a lake.
He patiently soothed the injured fledgling in his arms, silently tending to the wounds on her wings.
Yates Donovan was very tight-lipped about Mia Grant’s affairs.
However, even though Yates hadn’t said a word, Silas could sense from her expression and emotions that the fledgling in his arms had endured too many hardships. Now that she was back in the harbor, it was time for her to rest properly.
—
Mia Grant didn’t see Yates Donovan the next day. She was kept at the hospital for a day of observation, and once it was confirmed there were no issues, she was discharged in the afternoon.
Felix Sinclair was the one who picked Mia Grant up and took her back to school.
The two were silent on the way.
When they arrived at her dormitory building, Felix Sinclair got out of the car with her.
"Do you have class later? Want to go for a walk?"
"Okay," Felix Sinclair agreed.
The weather wasn’t great today, and there weren’t many people on the athletic field at this hour.
Mia Grant got tired after walking for a little while and wanted to go back to her dorm to rest.
Sensing her fatigue, Felix Sinclair crouched down in front of her and gestured for her to get on. "I’ll carry you back."
Mia Grant froze.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she climbed onto his back. Their breaths mingled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Felix."
After a long silence, her voice came from over his shoulder.
Felix hummed in acknowledgment, his eyes flickering slightly.
She said, "Don’t do anything foolish again."
Felix Sinclair stopped in his tracks. After a moment, he started walking again and replied, "You too."
The figure on his shoulders smiled.
"I’m not as foolish as you. I only live for myself. I hope you can do the same."