Chapter 25 Chapter 25 : I Have to Make Him Hate Me Hayden's face darkened instantly . " What the hell are you talking about? " I burst out laughing . " So worried about me kissing another guy . Did you actually catch feelings after sleeping with me ? " Hayden was furious . " Aubrey . " " Did I hit a nerve ? Feeling a little defensive ? " I continued to cackle . " If you're not jealous , why do you care so much that I brought some college kid back with me ? " Hayden's expression was grim . " If this is about doing me a favor , you really don't have to . " " I told you , I'm not that noble . " " Then why ... " I suddenly sat up straight and leaned in , my arm hooking around his neck until my warm breath was ghosting over his ear . " Hayden , I'm better looking than Isabelle , right ? My body's better , too . How about this : you can be with her during the day , and at night , you can still come see me on the side ... " Hayden watched my wild , crazed smile , and his eyes grew cold . My own heart felt like it was submerged in ice water . * But I have to do this . * * I have to make him hate me . * " See ? All it took was a little test to prove it . You might have forgotten me , but your body doesn't lie . You didn't seem to mind so much when you came back to be with me every Saturday . You can say you hate me all you want , but your body is pretty honest , isn't it ... " It dawned on Hayden . " You brought that guy - Yao - back here to test me ? " " Yup . Look at you . He didn't even get to kiss me , and you went crazy and beat the crap out of him . Hayden , are you still going to tell me you don't care about me ? " Hayden stared at me with an expression of pure disbelief . I pretended not to notice the rage building in him and pushed even harder . " ... Isabelle probably wouldn't agree to play bondage games with you , right ? But I will . I've already got the ropes and blindfolds ready . Whatever you want to play , I'll play along ... Ah ! " I feigned a reach for his shirt collar , but he slapped my hand away without a second thought . Chapter 25 With a dull thud , my hand slammed hard against the bed's guardrail . The sharp pain made my scalp tingle . HPA Mr. Hughes was right . If he ever really wanted to hurt me with his strength , I'd have nowhere to run . " Aubrey , I was wondering why you'd suddenly had a change of heart lately , but it turns out you're still the same you . Acting all innocent and harmless in front of Mom and Dad , making them think you were willing to step aside for my sake , even making me feel guilty . So this was your plan all along ? " I fought back the excruciating pain in my hand and held back the tears , my voice trembling . " What else was I supposed to do ? Hayden , you're mine ! Why should I just hand you over to someone else ?! What's so great about Isabelle , anyway ? She's not better than me at anything , so what right does she have to steal my man ?! " " Aubrey !!! " I tilted my face up , forcing a huge smile . " But you were jealous for me , weren't you , Hayden ? Stop pretending to be some kind of saint . Aren't all men just thinking with their dicks ? Isabelle's so vanilla . Can she really satisfy you ? " The color had drained from Hayden's face , leaving it ashen . When he looked at me now , there wasn't a trace of warmth left in his eyes - only disgust and revulsion . " Aubrey , I'm not as filthy as you are . " He turned and walked away . In the final second before he left the room , I put on the teasing tone of a hooker from an old movie . " If things with Isabelle aren't exciting enough , you can always come find me ... " My answer was the deafening slam of the door . The entire hospital room seemed to vibrate . The young nurse , terrified , stood with a pale face , biting her lip , too scared to speak . I could finally let the mask fall . My whole body went limp , and my voice returned to normal . That baby voice is absolute torture . Especially for my throat . The more I forced it , the hoarser I got , and I started coughing again , unable to stop . The nurse , who had witnessed the entire scene , looked like she wanted to say something . Finally , seeing how badly I was coughing , she turned and poured me a glass of water . I took it and soothed my throat , offering her a small , reassuring smile . " Don't be scared . He was just taking his anger out on me . It has nothing to do with you . " The young nurse stared at my calm , composed expression and the completely different tone of voice , so unlike the femme fatale act from a moment ago . She was stunned . " Ms. Shelton , you ... you were doing that Chapter 25 on purpose ? " Exhausted , I lay back down . " I don't want him to know what's wrong with me . Can you help me ? " Understanding suddenly dawned on the young nurse's face , and she nodded . " Ms. Shelton , you were deliberately acting like that just to make him leave , weren't I curved my lips into a slight smile . " I was pretty convincing , sn't 12 " The nurse sighed and started preparing the medical supplies for my injection . When she touched my left hand , I sucked in a sharp breath of pain . " He really didn't hold back , " the nurse said . " Is it bruised ? " you ? " " It's not just bruised , it's all swollen , " the nurse said . " Let me use your other hand for the shot , okay ? " She wheeled the small cart to the other side of the bed . I waved my hand . " You don't have to give me the shot . " " I have to , " the nurse insisted . " This is a painkiller . You passed out from the pain earlier . If it flares up again after you go home , someone's going to find out . " Thinking of that , I gave in . Besides , I've always been terrified of pain . Still , I held out my left hand to her . " Then just do it in this hand . " " But your left hand is all swollen . It'll be hard to find a vein . " " Yeah , I know . " My veins have always been thin . Every time I got an IV , the bruises on the back of my hand were obvious and took days to fade . This new bruise would be perfect for hiding the needle marks from the IV drip . But I had still overestimated my body's condition . That night , I developed a high fever that wouldn't break . I was so delirious that I could vaguely hear several people talking beside my bed . Annoyed , I furrowed my brow slightly , wanting to tell them to be quiet , but my throat was too dry to make a sound . Chapter 25 " ... This is bad . It's too dangerous for her to continue like this . If something happens , our hospital can't take this responsibility . We have to notify her family . " " Her situation is complicated . She doesn't want her family to know about her condition . She begged me touay to keep it a secret . " " We're supposed to respect patient confidentiality , yes , but you've seen her condition . If something really happens to her , what are we going to do when her family comes demanding answers ... " * Ring , ring , ring- * A sharp ringing cut through their argument . It was my phone . I struggled to sit up , and a few of the nurses rushed to help me . I glanced at the screen , where the name " My Big Idiot " was pulsing . 14 I gave a bitter smile and shot a pleading look at the nurses , miming the action of drinking water before pointing to my throat and shaking my head . The young nurse who had been taking care of me understood immediately and poured me a glass of warm water . I leaned unsteadily against the headboard and answered the phone . " Hello ? " " Were you asleep ? " " Mhm , " I hummed , a small laugh in my voice. " If you're not here , I have to sleep by myself , you know . What's up , miss me already ? " Silence on the other end . I glanced at the time on my phone : . I pressed the phone to my ear again , my voice teasing . " Or are you saying you want to try out my little proposal from this afternoon , starting tonight ? " I heard a sudden , ragged breath on the other end of the line . But it had nothing to do with desire . It sounded like pain . I shot upright , gripping the phone tightly as I pressed , " Hayden , what's wrong ? "