Free Web NovelChapter 365: Chapter 363: They All Trust Hayes Hughes
Hayes Hughes didn’t find the question abrupt or strange.
He was clearing away the dishes and didn’t even look up at her. His tone was as natural as any casual after-dinner conversation.
"I wouldn’t."
"I don’t care about fame or fortune. To me, nothing is more important than you."
"I wouldn’t even hesitate when faced with a choice. Unless the other option also involves you."
Mia Grant froze. Hayes’s words had reminded her of something.
’Why would Hayes attack me for no reason?’
But for now, she had no leads.
Asking more questions wouldn’t be any use.
After all, it was an event that hadn’t even happened yet.
She was supposed to be under observation for a day, but with nothing to do at Hayes Hughes’s home, Mia Grant decided to order a LEGO set for delivery.
When the doorbell rang, Hayes stopped what he was doing, answered the door, and brought her delivery inside.
"Aren’t you going to rest for a bit?"
Mia Grant shook her head gently. Sitting on the rug, she began opening the packaging. "I slept a long time last night. I’m not tired."
Hayes picked up a throw pillow from the sofa and took her by the arm. "Here, get up for a second. Sit on this."
It was an overcast day, so the light wasn’t great. He went and switched on a floor lamp in the corner.
"Would you like something to drink?"
"I could squeeze you a glass of orange juice."
"Okay." Mia carefully examined the pieces.
A few minutes later, he returned and placed the juice somewhere out of the way.
"Be careful. I put it over here."
Mia nodded slightly without looking at him, her attention fixed on the instruction manual.
After watching her in silence for a moment, Hayes sat down on the sofa beside her. He leaned forward, trying to start a conversation.
"How long does this take to build?"
"A few hours if I’m fast. Two or three days if I take my time."
After a pause, Mia turned to look at him. "You should go do your work. I can just put on my headphones and build this on my own."
Meeting her gaze, Hayes chuckled. "I appreciate the thought, but... I really don’t have anything to do at home. I just swapped shifts, so it wouldn’t be right to go back to the hospital now."
Mia looked at him doubtfully. "Then what do you usually do at home on your days off?"
"Catch up on sleep, read books, watch documentaries, and sometimes go play tennis at a nearby court."
"Sounds like you have a pretty full life. You should go read."
She was trying to shoo him away.
Seeing she had no intention of inviting him to join, Hayes sighed quietly to himself, then smiled and nodded. "Okay."
He didn’t move, though. On a temporary bookshelf nearby were a couple of books he’d been reading recently.
He casually picked one up and quickly found the page marked by a bookmark.
However, his mind wasn’t on the book’s contents at all.
After assembling a small section, Mia tilted her head to look at him and asked curiously, "What book are you reading?"
"A collection of poems." He partially closed the book to show her the cover.
Mia didn’t actually care what he was reading. "It’s been over ten minutes. How come you haven’t turned the page?"
Hayes froze. He glanced down at the words on the page and, sure enough, it was still the same one he had opened to.
Realizing he’d been caught, he let out a helpless laugh. "I was spacing out."
Mia stared at him for a good long moment before shifting to the side. "Why don’t you come over here and build this with me?"
She had finally issued the invitation.
But Hayes said, "The last time I did any crafts was back in high school."
Mia understood what he was implying and assured him it was fine. "I’ll just teach you, then."
As it turned out, Hayes had been too modest.
Mia took the section he’d finished and attached it to the main structure. "You’re much faster than I am."
He didn’t hesitate to praise her. "That’s because you’re a thorough teacher."
Mia pursed her lips but didn’t argue.
Sitting together, they looked from a distance like a couple in the first blush of love, nestled close.
The warm, yellow light enveloped their figures, creating a scene of tranquil bliss.
Hayes asked, "What made you suddenly get into this?"
He didn’t know her that well, but he knew this wasn’t a hobby of hers before.
Mia searched for a piece among the parts spread out on the floor as she explained, "I’ve been bored lately, so I was looking for something to do. I tried to find a novel to read, but I couldn’t get into it."
"Then I remembered Dr. Quinlan saying I could try doing some crafts in my free time to help with anxiety."
Before he could say anything, she continued, as if talking to herself, "At first, I really doubted his professional opinion. I thought doing crafts would just make me more anxious."
"Especially for a perfectionist like me."
"But after giving it a try, I found it actually did calm me down a lot."
Hayes breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her explanation.
He had been very worried about Mia’s psychological state.
He was afraid that the anxiety he could see was just the tip of the iceberg.
He’d asked before, and Dr. Quinlan had said she didn’t show signs of severe depression.
It seemed that was true.
She was actually more concerned about her own condition than anyone else.
And, unbeknownst to everyone, she was finding ways to soothe herself.
She had taken the doctor’s advice seriously.
’Someone with no will to live wouldn’t care what a doctor says.’
"It really is much faster with two people," Mia said, satisfied, after they finished. She took several photos with her phone. "It’s so intricate."
Hearing that, Hayes glanced at the box on the floor, silently making a mental note of the series.
It was only because she’d just picked up her phone that Mia noticed the missed calls.
She had put her phone on silent that morning, and since it had been lying on the rug the whole time, she hadn’t noticed the screen lighting up.
Sipping the juice Hayes had made, she sent a message back to Felix and Ian Sinclair, then sent another one to Silas Grant to let him know she was safe.
Then, she called Carla Sinclair.
The room was quiet, so Hayes could naturally hear a woman’s voice on the other end of the line.
He recognized it as Carla Sinclair’s voice almost instantly.
So he got up to get Mia some snacks, giving the two sisters their space.
"I’m fine, really," Mia said. She didn’t dare make any big facial expressions or open her mouth too wide, as it would pull at the cut on her face.
"The cut on my face is just a little deep, but the doctor said there’s not a high chance of it scarring."
"My head? My head’s fine. It’s just a little swollen."
"I had scans done, everything’s been checked. Let me see the report..." Mia looked around but couldn’t find it.
Hearing her rustling, Hayes lowered his voice and asked, "What are you looking for?"
"My X-rays?"
Hayes walked over to a cabinet and took down a large envelope. "They’re all in here."
Mia nodded, gesturing for him to go back to what he was doing.
"I’ll send you a picture of it later," she said to Carla.
"Just now? It was no one." Mia glanced up at the man’s back, and as if sensing her gaze, he turned to look at her.
Their eyes met. Mia’s lips twitched. It wasn’t exactly a secret. "I’m with Hayes Hughes."
A flicker of emotion crossed Hayes’s face.
Hearing this, the person on the other end of the line sighed in relief. "Then what did he have to say?"
"..." Mia scratched her uninjured cheek, her voice tinged with resignation. "It seems like my credibility with you guys isn’t very high."
’Why does everyone trust Hayes more than me?’
