"Star, thank you," Haynes''s voice was hoarse, "but..... I don''t think that will be necessary."


    Ste immediately understood.


    "Alright," she said. "I get it."


    After hanging up, Ste and Joshua went to pick up Keen. The boy was a little down. No matter how much Ste and Deanna disliked each other, Deanna was Keen''s grandmother and had genuinely doted on him. Now that her condition was critical, Keen was understandably sad.


    Fortunately, Joshua had a knack for handling children and quickly managed to distract him, lifting his spirits.


    One day, Ste was sitting at a table watching Keen and Joshua y a game of chess when her phone rang. It was Haynes again.


    Ste nced at the time-eight o''clock at night. Her heart skipped a beat; she had a bad feeling.


    She walked out to the balcony to answer the call.


    "Haynes, is something wrong?"


    Haynes''s trembling, hoarse voice came from the other end. "Yes. My mother wants to see Keen onest time."


    Ste''s heart sank. Onest time... That meant Deanna wasn''t going to make it.


    After hanging up, Ste went to Keen''s side. "Keen, get ready. We''re going to the hospital now."


    Joshua, who had likely guessed what happened, stood up. "I''ll drive you."


    Ste didn''t refuse.


    Thirty minutester, Ste arrived at the hospital with Keen. Haynes looked grim, his brow furrowed with exhaustion and grief.


    "Star, thank you for making the trip."


    Ste just shook her head.


    About half an hourter, Callie O''Brien''s heart-wrenching sobs could be heard from the hospital room. Ste nced toward the room and sighed softly. She and Deanna had deep seated issues but with Deanna on the verge of death, all their past conflicts seemed to evaporate.


    Just then, a jacket was draped over her shoulders. Joshua''s voice sounded next to her.


    "It''s chilly at night. Don''t catch a cold."


    Ste instinctively took Joshua''s


    hand, and her restless heart


    suddenly felt at ease. In that


    moment, she desperately wanted to tell him that while other people may have left their marks on her heart; only he was truly irreceable.


    As the thought crossed her mind, Ste was struck by a startling realization: she had never told Joshua that she liked him, or even that she loved him.


    But a somber asion like this was hardly the right time for a confession. Ste nned to talk to Joshua after Deanna''s funeral, but she would never get the chance to say those words.


    The next thing Ste knew, she was awake in a strange ce.


    She tried calling out Joshua''s name. "Joshua? Joshua?"


    The door opened and someone walked in. Ste expected to see Joshua, but her expression froze when she saw who it was.


    Her eyes sharpened with suspicion. "Foreman Richards, what are you doing here?"


    Suddenly, the events before she lost consciousness came rushing back. She and Joshua had been at Deanna''s funeral when a fire broke out. The scene devolved into chaos, thick smoke filling the air When they learned Keen was still upstairs, she and Haynes had split up to find him. Joshua, of course, wouldn''t let her risk her life. He told her to wait in a safe ce while he went to rescue Keen himself.