"Yeah, I just got home. How''s your mother doing now?" Vrie asked.


    "Her condition is stable. Veevee... I need to ask you something," Stefan said.


    A flicker of surprise crossed Vrie''s eyes. "What is it?"


    There was a brief silence before Stefan spoke again. "Never mind, it''s nothing important. Get some rest. Goodnight."


    Before Vrie could respond, he had already hung up.


    She set her phone down, deciding to invite Stefan out for dinner in the next few days and have an honest conversation with him.


    After the surgery, Michelle remained unconscious for a full day before finally waking up.


    The moment she opened her eyes, she saw Jayden sitting by her bedside.


    "Michelle! You''re awake!" Jayden eximed, relief flooding his voice as he quickly pressed the call button for the doctor.


    Once the doctor confirmed she was out of danger, Jayden exhaled deeply.


    "Michelle, do you have any idea what I went through while you were unconscious? Please, don''t ever do something so reckless again. Brandon isn''t worth it!" he said.


    With his help, Michelle slowly sat up, her face pale as she looked at him. "Did... Brandon note to see me at all?"


    Jayden''s expression darkened. "I called him several times while you were in surgery. Not only did he refuse toe, but he was busy sweet-talking Vrie instead."


    Michelle''s gaze dimmed at that. She lowered her eyes to the nket and said nothing.


    Seeing her disappointment, Jayden hesitated before speaking in a gentler tone. "Michelle, after everything that''s happened, you should see it clearly now. Brandon will never love you. Maybe it''s time to let go..."


    It took a long moment before


    Michelle finally lifted her head to


    meet his eyes


    Jayden!


    understand thank you for being here for me. Honestly, after everything I''ve done, I thought you wouldn''t want anything to do with me anymore."


    There was a flicker in Jayden''s eyes.


    At first, he had nned to cut ties with her. But the moment he heard about her suicide attempt and rushed to the hospital all he could think about was her survival. He had spent the entire surgery praying she would make it.


    That was when he realized he loved Michelle. Not just her beautiful side, but even the darkness within her.


    He knew she wasn''t a good person. In fact, she could be downright cruel. Despite that, he couldn''t stop himself from loving her.


    The only thing he could do now was keep her from going too far and reaching a point of no return.


    After staying with Michelle for a while, Jayden finally got up to leave at her insistence.


    "But if I leave, there won''t be anyone to take care of you," he said.


    Michelle smiled. "I''ll call my dadter. He''ll send someone over. You don''t have to worry. Just go home and get some rest. If you look in the mirror, you''ll see how exhausted you are."


    Jayden had barely slept in the past 24 hours. Now that Michelle was awake, fatigue finally caught up to him.


    "Alright, I''ll go for now. Call me if you need anything, okay?" he said.


    "Okay." Michelle smiled as she watched him walk out.


    As soon as the hospital room door closed behind him, her expression turned ice- cold.


    Picking up her phone, she noticed several missed calls from Stefan. She let out a scornfulugh and called him back.


    The line barely rang before Stefan answered, his voice sharp with anger. "Michelle, you promised to cover my mom''s medical expenses, but you went back on your word! Transfer the money now, or ?l expose everything you made me do!"