Neville raised an eyebrow, ready to say more, but Ste cut him off. "Mr. Connolly, you can head home now. I need a word alone with Haynes."


    Neville nodded lightly, acknowledging the situation. "Okay, call me if you need anything."


    As Neville exited, Haynes'' expression turned stormy, his chiseled features hardening into a mask of icy disdain. "Ste," he said, his voice dripping with venom, "we''re not even divorced yet, and you''re already throwing yourself at someone else?"


    Of course. This man never missed an opportunity to twist the knife.


    Ste responded indifferently, "Someone''s phone was unreachable, and after I got rushed to the hospital, the doctors urged me to call my family over. I had no choice but to call someone I could rely on for help."


    Abby was the first person she reached out to. But after Ste had a car ident the day before and couldn''t pick up Marvin. So, when Ste woke up, she had no choice but to call Neville and exin the situation. Not long after, Neville showed up with Marvin to visit her. They didn''t leave until Abby arrivedter. Abby had stayed with Ste all night, ande morning, Ste insisted she head home for some rest.


    Ste looked up at Haynes. "Or was I supposed to wait for the hospital to toss me out on the street?"


    Haynes'' Adam''s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, choosing to remain silent. When Ste had no one to turn to, he had been at the hospital, tirelessly attending to Rachel''s needs.


    Ste picked up the food Neville had brought her and ate slowly, deliberately. The hospital room fell into a brief silence.


    It wasn''t until Ste finished her meal that Haynes broke the quiet. "You and Rachel... how did you end up colliding?"


    "You should ask Ms. Pearce that question, not me," Ste replied, steady and unflustered. "I''ve said it before. Her car came out of nowhere and hit me."


    Haynes'' gaze was as deep as the night. "But the eyewitnesses I spoke to imed you darted into the road without slowing down."


    As expected, it wasn''t just a coincidence. Rachel had nned this.


    Ste lifted her eyes to meet Haynes''. "Have they found the surveince footage from the ident yet?"


    Haynes shook his head. "Not yet."


    Ste wasn''t surprised in the least. Rachel had meticulously nned everything, leaving no room for simple mistakes.


    "So, Mr. O''Brien," Ste said evenly, "do you believe I intentionally crashed into Ms. Pearce?"


    "Intentional or not, you rushed out without slowing down. ording to the eyewitnesses, you''re at fault for this ident," Haynes replied.


    "And?" Ste prompted.


    Haynes said, "Right now, public opinion is escting. If you publicly apologize to Rachel, we can end this whole thing."


    Ste raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise crossing her features. She chuckled, "Just an apology, huh? With Ms. Pearce injured so badly, I thought you''d at least demand I serve time behind bars."


    Haynes'' expression remained cold. "Rachel''s injuries aren''t critical. I''ll handle her side of things. Once you apologize, I''ll quell the media storm."


    Ste''s brow furrowed slightly, "So, Mr. O''Brien, you''ll just let the public bacsh run its course if I refuse to apologize, right?"


    Haynes looked down at her. "Ste, I owe Rachel a resolution to this ident."


    An apology to smooth over the chaos - such a trivial punishment wasn''t much of a penalty.


    Ste''s heart remained steady, and her emotions unruffled. "I didn''t crash into Rachel. Rachel crashed into me. If anyone should apologize, it should be Rachel."


    Haynes seemed stunned by Ste''s stubbornness in the face of overwhelming


    evidence. He frowned deeply. "You im Rachel hit you first. I''ve had it investigated, and the evidence is clear. Are you still going to deny it?"