"Mom, I was at a public restroom by the side of the road, so I wasn''t in the car. I''m okay," Keen said softly.


    Ste''s eyes grew darker. "Which hospital are you at? I''lle see you right now." Keen gave her the name of the hospital.


    She immediately spun the car around and sped toward the facility.


    By the time she reached the treatment room, Haynes''s injuries had mostly been bandaged.


    Looking at the scrape across his forehead, she asked softly, "Are you alright?" "I''m fine," he replied calmly. "Just some minor scrapes. It''s nothing serious."


    Her expression was heavy. "What exactly happened?"


    "Just like Keen told you. While I was waiting for him to use the restroom, a car lost control and swerved right into me. Thankfully, I managed to dodge in time, so the impact wasn''t too bad.


    Afterward, the driver didn''t run. He got out, apologized profusely, and said he was a novice driver and didn''t hit me on purpose. He offered to cover all damages and medical bills."


    Ste lowered her head in silence.


    Haynes had visited Solmaris plenty of times without ever suffering a scratch.


    The very day he was supposed to take her out, he mysteriously got into an ident.


    There was no way in the world this was just a coincidence.


    Noticing her low spirits, Haynes added, "The driver didn''t follow through with a second strike, so the goal wasn''t to kill me.


    He also timed it perfectly when Keen wasn''t around, which tells me this was meant strictly as a warning."


    She looked at him. "I''m sorry, Haynes."


    Helping her was proving to be apletely thankless and dangerous task.


    "You don''t need to feel guilty. Since I agreed to help you, I''m willing to ept the consequences... as long as Keen is safe," he replied.


    "Joshua would never hurt Keen," she stated firmly.


    "His mental state is unstable right now. Do you really trust him that much?" Haynes asked.


    "Yes. He put his own life on the line to save Keen. I believe he would never do anything to harm him."


    Looking at her noticeably thinner face, Haynes suddenly asked, "When you got into your car ident back then... did you hate me?"


    Ste was caught slightly off guard. "What?"


    His voice dropped lower. "When Rachel hit you with her car... when


    you watched me carry her away and Ibung up on your call did v


    me?"


    She took a moment to recall the


    past before answering Maybeet


    be honest, I''vepletely forgotten, how I felt in that moment.


    "I''m sorry, he rasped. "I didn''t know


    you were in the car. If I had known, would never have hung up and certainly wouldn''t have left you there."


    There was no resentment on her face, nor a trace of sarcasm.


    She offered a faint smile. "I know."


    Seeing her so calm didn''t bring him any relief.


    The fact that she no longer felt sorrow or bitterness over the past meant she had truly let it go. She had moved onpletely.


    Since his injuries weren''t severe, there was no need for him to be admitted to the hospital.


    However, considering he was hurt, ying tourist was out of the question.


    Ste drove him and Keen back to his ce herself.


    After mulling it over, she decided it was best to have a chat with Keen to prevent him


    from unintentionally ruining her ns again.


    Once inside his room, she sat down and asked, "Keen, between Dad and Mr. Joshua, who do you like more?"


    He seemed to have already pondered this question and didn''t struggle much to


    answer.


    "I like both Dad and Mr. Joshua a lot."


    "But if you absolutely had to choose your favorite?" she pressed.