Dylan Colton watched Morgan Hayes warily.
But Morgan didn’t even glance at him. His attention was focused entirely on Annabelle Leighton.
Annabelle’s face was pale, her brows furrowed with exhaustion.
Morgan guessed she had fainted from excessive worry and not eating properly over the past few days.
"I’m taking her to the hospital," Dylan Colton said.
Morgan didn’t reply. He simply reached out and pulled Annabelle into his arms.
"Hey, who are you?" Dylan Colton grabbed Annabelle’s hand again. "I’m Annie’s good friend; we grew up together."
"I’m her boyfriend."
Dylan Colton froze.
The man before him had ended the competition with just three short words. As it turned out, the longer the prefix, the more useless it was.
"Boyfriend?"
"Yes."
"For real?"
Ignoring Dylan Colton’s skepticism, Morgan scooped up Annabelle Leighton and walked away.
When Shane Sterling left, he had left his driver and car for Morgan Hayes. Morgan had insisted it wasn’t necessary at the ti, but he never expected it would actually co in handy.
Morgan carried Annabelle into the car and told the driver to go to the nearest hospital.
The driver started the car imdiately.
Dylan Colton didn’t stay idle either; he followed Morgan right to the hospital.
After the doctors took Annabelle in for an examination, Dylan Colton kept hovering around Morgan.
"Are you really Annie’s boyfriend?"
Dylan Colton sized Morgan up.
Morgan wasn’t good at lying. Being stared at by Dylan for so long made him start to wonder if it was wrong to spread such a lie while Annabelle was unconscious.
He was just about to offer a corrective explanation when he heard Dylan ask, "Are you a cop?"
"How did you know?"
"So it really is you?" Dylan said excitedly. "Damn, are all cops this handso these days? A second ago, I thought you were just so pretty boy trying to woo Annie."
Morgan Hayes: "..."
"Annie used to talk about you all the ti. She said she was chasing you. I laughed at her back then, telling her there was no way a serious guy like a cop would fall for a free spirit like her. She said she didn’t care, that she only liked you and was determined to win you over. Heh, and she actually did it."
Dylan Colton started talking a mile a minute.
This caught Morgan completely off guard.
He’d thought Dylan was a love rival just a mont ago, but in the blink of an eye, the rival had turned into a wingman.
"Officer, may I ask your surna?"
"It’s Hayes."
"Hello, Officer Hayes. My na is Dylan Colton. Annie and I are very good friends. My mom treats her like her own daughter, and I think of her as a sister. So what I’m about to say might be a bit out of line, but I have to say it anyway."
"Please, go ahead." With the ’love rival’ crisis averted, Morgan beca exceptionally patient with Dylan.
"Annie’s mom passed away when she was very young. Her dad started a new family and doesn’t pay any attention to her at all. The outside world thinks she’s the precious heiress of the Leighton Family, the apple of their eye, but the only person in that family who truly doted on her was her grandma. Don’t be fooled by her usual optimistic and cheerful deanor; deep down, she’s very insecure. Before she t you, she didn’t believe in love at all. After eting you, she was like a completely different person. Her eyes would light up whenever she talked about you." Dylan paused for a mont. "Um... all that was just rambling. What I really want to say is, it’s rare for Annie to like and trust soone this much, so you absolutely can’t let her down. Especially now, with even the grandmother who loved her most gone, she must be in so much pain. You have to be there for her and help her get through the darkness of her grandmother’s passing."
Dylan spoke with such sincerity that his words naturally sank into Morgan’s heart.
"Mr. Colton, please rest assured. I will never betray Annie’s feelings for ."
* * *
When Annabelle Leighton woke up, she was in a hospital bed with an IV drip in her arm.
Morgan Hayes was sitting by her bedside, watching her quietly. The mont he saw her wake up, he steadied the hand with the IV.
"You’re awake. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
"A little dizzy," Annabelle said.
"You’re too tired, and you haven’t been eating properly. That’s why this happened." Morgan glanced at his watch. "After your IV is done, I’ll take you ho and make you sothing delicious."
Annabelle looked at the hand Morgan had placed over hers, then back at his face. "Why are you suddenly being so nice to ? Do you pity ?"
"Of course not. I promised soone I would be good to you, and I have to keep that promise."
"That was just an act."
"I’m not talking about Grandma."
"Then who are you talking about?"
"That good friend of yours, Mr. Colton."
"Dylan Colton? What did he say to you?"
Morgan licked his lips, a little embarrassed. "He told a lot of things. He even entrusted you to ."
"Don’t listen to his nonsense, he..."
"No, listen to first." Morgan looked at Annabelle earnestly. "I was the one who first told Mr. Colton that I was your boyfriend. Only then did he say all those things to ."
Annabelle was completely drained of energy, and her mind couldn’t quite keep up with the speed of Morgan’s words.
After a mont, she asked hesitantly, "Why did you tell him you were my boyfriend?"
"Because I want to be your boyfriend."
Annabelle couldn’t believe her ears. "What are you saying?"
"I said, I want to be your boyfriend."
Annabelle was silent for a few seconds, then slowly turned her head away, avoiding Morgan’s gaze.
"I know you’re just pitying for losing my grandmother, but I’m not as fragile as you think. I can get through this on my own. I don’t need you to turn our act into reality and make such a huge sacrifice."
"I’m not pitying you. I genuinely like you." It was Morgan’s first ti confessing to a girl, and he nervously weighed his words. "Actually, from the mont you first said you liked , you threw my heart into turmoil. I’d never t anyone as... as passionate as you. You’re like a little sun, bringing so much color and anticipation to my otherwise monotonous life."
"Then why did you keep rejecting ?"
"Because I had no confidence. Because we’re from different social classes. I didn’t think we could make it to the end, so I kept rejecting you."
"’We’re not from the sa world.’ I get it."
"I thought I could control my feelings for you, but I overestimated myself. When you went on that blind date, I got angry. When a close male friend showed up by your side, I got jealous. I was becoming less and less like myself. Before your grandma passed away, when you asked to pretend to be your boyfriend to see her, I was actually very happy. The promises I made to her on her deathbed all ca from the bottom of my heart. After she passed, I was at ho, restless and worried sick about you. In that mont, I desperately wished I had a legitimate reason to be by your side."
"Really?"
"Of course, it’s real." Morgan stroked Annabelle’s head. "Serving the people might be my motto, but I wouldn’t go so far as to offer myself up as a boyfriend just because soone’s relative died. It’s definitely because I like you."
Tears silently slid down Annabelle’s cheeks.
"You know, I just had a dream. In it, Grandma said that soone would definitely co to love in her place. Then I opened my eyes and saw you."
"Then you can think of as the one Grandma chose for you. Let be the one to love you from now on, okay?"
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