Chapter 4

For some reason, Saul Barrett's chest felt tight all day. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake the image of Nola from his mind.

He took a gulp of coffee, and muttered to himself, "Nola's in the hospital waiting to donate to Hailey. She's fine."

But when Saul remembered the hopeless look in Nola's eyes earlier, his heart just wouldn't calm down.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. Thinking it was probably another message from Hailey urging him to get to the hospital, Saul's brows knitted in annoyance.

He just couldn't figure out why Hailey, who used to be so sensible, was now always making a fuss over nothing.

He'd already promised to have Nola end the pregnancy so she could donate bone marrow to Hailey, but Hailey just kept pestering him.

And then there was Nola. She used to always cling to him, but now it seemed like she barely cared about him anymore.

Saul felt a stabbing pain in his chest, so sharp it made it hard to breathe.

A sudden thought rose in his mind: what if Nola was really leaving him? His heart clenched with fear.

But with four bodyguards watching Nola all the time, it was impossible for Nola to leave. Besides, there was nowhere Nola could go.

He let out a self-mocking laugh.

Still searching for his car keys, Saul had the overwhelming urge to see Nola.

Before he could leave, his secretary knocked on the door. "Sir, the meeting's about to start," she reminded him.

But Saul didn't even glance back. He hurried out, completely swept up in his ache and longing. He wasn't in the mood for work.

Saul raced to the underground parking lot, his hands shaking as badly as his heart was pounding.

His phone buzzed again with another message.

Saul's eyes reddened as he unlocked his phone. He wanted to tell Hailey to shut up.

But when he opened the message, he saw that it wasn't Hailey, but Brian, asking to meet.

Remembering how Brian had pushed Nola to her checkup yesterday, Saul felt a wave of panic, wondering if something had happened to Nola.

Saul slammed his foot on the gas and raced toward the hospital, adrenaline roaring in his veins.

He burst into Nola's hospital room, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Thinking she might be in Brian's office, Saul rushed over there next.

But neither Nola nor Brian was there, either.

Suddenly, his phone rang—it was one of the bodyguards. "Mr. Barrett, Mrs. Barrett is gone!" came the tense voice of the bodyguard.

Panic overtook Saul. He tore through the hospital like a madman, desperately searching for Nola.

He suspected Brian might have hidden her somewhere.

Frantically, Saul kept calling Brian but Brian just hung up on him.

Soon after, Saul got a message from Brian, telling him to go to Hailey's hospital room.

Saul's vision went red. He'd kill Hailey if Hailey laid a finger on Nola.

Saul raced to Hailey's hospital room, but when he arrived, he couldn't bring himself to walk through the door.

"Hailey, your condition isn't that serious. You could've gotten treatment overseas. So why come back here?" Brian's tone was offhand, not at all concerned.

Hearing Brian and Hailey chatting inside, Saul didn't go in; after all, Brian was asking exactly what Saul himself had always wanted to know.

Hailey smirked. "Sure, I know hospitals overseas have better facilities, but Saul's not there."

"Saul's not a doctor. He can't fix you," Brian shot back.

"Saul can't cure me, but he cares about me. He's the only one who'd do whatever it takes to get me a bone marrow match.

"Just look—he even made Nola end her pregnancy so I could have the transplant," Hailey said smugly.

Hailey's smile was all sweetness, but to Saul, it landed like a sucker punch straight to the heart.

So it was true. Hailey's leukemia wasn't as dire as she claimed. Medication could've kept her stable.

He smacked himself on his head, suddenly regretting it. Nola's once disappointed words rang in his ears: "When you care too much, you lose your reason."

Brian nodded, then said, "But I still don't get it. Why fake depression and push Nola into ending her pregnancy?

"You could've just waited until Nola had the baby and then did the bone marrow transplant. Wouldn't that be better?"

Hailey's sweet laugh turned maniacal. "I just can't stand the thought of Nola giving birth to Saul's kid. I went through hell overseas—my trash boyfriend killed my baby when he kicked me in the stomach.

"So why should Nola get what she wants with Saul? Why does she deserve to be happy?" Hailey hissed.

"You left Saul. You dumped him to chase some foreign guy. And now, after all your misery overseas, you want to wreck their happiness. Is that really fair?" Brian demanded, his voice sharp with anger.

Hailey kept on smiling. "Saul's mine. Six years ago, I couldn't stand him, so I tossed him aside like trash. But now I'm back. Just because I threw him out doesn't mean anyone else gets to pick him up.

"Honestly? A simp like Saul and a bitch like me—now that's a match made in heaven."

Saul didn't even dare to think about what he'd done.

All that mattered now was finding Nola, holding the girl who'd always treated him like he was her whole world tightly in his arms.

He wanted to tell Nola he didn't care about Hailey anymore. He only wanted Nola to be alive and well.

Saul totally lost it. He burst through the door and went straight for Brian, grabbing him by the throat.

Hailey stiffened when Saul barged in, her expression nervous.

But Saul couldn't care less about dealing with Hailey right now. All that mattered to him was finding out where Nola was.

Brian stayed totally chill. He brushed Saul's hand off like it was nothing.

"Relax. I've given you the truth you needed to hear. You should be thanking me," Brian said.

Hailey started panicking at Brian's words.