Chapter 402 William and Hayden (3)
Watching William, suddenly, Hayden's brow furrowed.
It was then that her keys clattered to the floor from her hands.
Seeing the girl before him, William paused briefly as well, but then he quickly collected himself, bent down to pick up Hayden's fallen keys, and extended them back to her, saying indifferently, "Your keys."
"Hayden, you're back! I thought you had already gone to class," Michelle, leaning on her crutches, said cheerfully as she approached. "Let me introduce you. This is the senior I was telling you about last night, William."
As she spoke, Michelle turned to Hayden and introduced, "William, this is my roommate, Hayden."
Hayden snapped back to reality, took the keys from William's hand, and said, "Thanks!"
Noticing the lack of interest between Hayden and William, Michelle laughed happily, reached out to hook her arm into William's, and suggested, "Let's go, William!"
William nodded, discreetly pulled his arm away from Michelle's grip, steadied her by holding onto her arm, and turned to Hayden, offering, "I'm walking Michelle to class. Want to join us?"
"No, it's fine," Hayden declined without hesitation.
William's lips curved slightly at the edges, but he didn't say anything.
"Let's go then, William. Hayden usually drives herself," Michelle quickly filled in the silence.
"Alright," William said with a slight nod, then helped Michelle out the door.
After they had passed by, Hayden entered the dorm room and firmly shut the door behind her with a 'bang.'
Having only walked a few meters with Michelle, William heard the 'bang' from behind and inexplicably felt the anger in Hayden's gesture.
'What's with Hayden? Did I do something to upset her?' William pondered.
When William remembered the provocative scene he had walked into the night before after bringing Michelle back from the hospital, a smile involuntarily spread across his lips.
Indeed, Hayden preferred to drive herself. She arrived at the classroom just in time.
Michelle sat at the very front while she chose a seat in the back row.
It wasn't anything against Michelle; she just favored the anonymity of the back row, as it drew less attention to her.
After finishing her morning classes, Hayden hurried out of the academic building, heading toward the parking lot.
She had a noon appointment with an upscale real estate consultant, planning to invest in some properties in New York.
Just as she emerged from the building, a face she loathed, nearly to the point of nausea, came into view.
Immediately, Hayden changed direction, quickening her pace away.
"Hayden, wait up!" Seeing Hayden trying to dodge him, Nikolai, holding a bouquet of blue roses, shouted and chased after her.
His actions quickly drew the attention of many onlookers, mostly Hayden's classmates, and of course, there was William.
William's friend Jasper had been detained for ten days for DUI and asked William to take care of Michelle, the girl Jasper had hit, during that time.
William had just finished class when he received a call from Michelle asking if he could join her for lunch.
Having already brought her breakfast and now being roped into lunch, William was somewhat annoyed.
But the thought of Hayden's charming and innocent smile seen at the coffee shop that morning made him agree without hesitation.
"Nikolai, can't you just stop?" Not wanting to continue being harassed by Nikolai and to avoid becoming a spectacle, Hayden stopped, turned swiftly, and shot Nikolai a chilling glare, her icy eyes sharp with inquiry.
William, overhearing from a distance, immediately understood.
The woman from last night's masquerade ball who was nearly drugged—it was her.
"If you call me that again, I'll tear your mouth apart," Hayden warned Nikolai through gritted teeth as she caught up to him.
Nikolai replied with a sly grin and a subservient tone. "You're done with classes. How about we have lunch together? I came all the way to New York just for you."
"Nikolai, I'm warning you one more time: if you keep bothering me, don't blame me for being rude," Hayden said through clenched teeth, leaving the words hanging before she turned to walk away.
"Hayden!" However, as soon as she turned, Nikolai lunged over, grasping her wrist in a hurried plea. "Hayden, don't go. Your mother and father want us to try dating. Maybe we're really suitable for each other. Wouldn't it be great to be closer? Don't you think?"
Hearing those words from Nikolai, Hayden's lips curled into a cold smile. But in an instant, a mist seemed to shimmer in her eyes.
When a father got a stepmother, he turned into a stepfather, becoming distant and uncaring.
And it was proving true!
Just a month after her mother took her own life, her father married the stepmother while the grief was still fresh. And now, even more absurdly, her father is actually asking her to marry her stepmother's nephew, in an attempt to get her stepmother to better manipulate their entire Lin family?
With a loud "smack," Hayden, seething with anger, spun around and slapped Nikolai's face .
"Hayden, you..."
"Hayden." William, who had been watching from a distance, could no longer contain himself and interjected.
At the sound of that deep, mellow, and soothing voice calling her name, Hayden paused, turning to look his way.
The sight of William walking towards her in a plain sky-blue shirt and beige chinos, looking so handsome and distinguished, left her momentarily stunned.
Nikolai, too, was taken aback. As he turned to see William approaching, a warm smile on his lips and a tender look in his eyes directed at Hayden, his face immediately displayed hostility and defensiveness.
William came over and glanced at Nikolai's hand, still holding Hayden's. He laid his hand gently on Nikolai's forearm, his lips curved in a light, amiable arc as he said, "Excuse me, sir, but I had already made plans with Hayden."
As William's handsome face came into close view, Hayden couldn't help but feel astonished.
Was he coming to her rescue?
Nikolai eyed William, feeling the seemingly soft grip on his forearm. Only he knew the strength of William's grip.
At that moment, Nikolai's arm was nearly numb from the pressure, the pain undeniable.
Unable to endure it any longer, Nikolai gradually released Hayden's wrist.
"Hayden, let's go," William said, naturally reaching out to drape an arm around Hayden's shoulders.
His touch was gentle; his large hand rested lightly on her shoulder.
Hayden looked down at his hand.
His hand was large and attractive, with delicate bones and clear contours. It was pale and clean, and even through the thin layer of fabric, she could distinctly feel the warmth of his palm.
As if possessed, she nodded and simply said, "Okay," letting William wrap his arm around her and lead her away.
Nikolai stood rooted to the spot, watching them leave, so close and intimate, anger flaring within him. He threw the blue cocktail he had been holding to the ground and spat a mouthful of disdain, cursing under his breath, "What a joke, let's see how I deal with you later."
After cursing, he turned and left swiftly.
Hayden, still in William's embrace, approached her car with him.
But when she caught a glimpse of Nikolai walking away in the distance, she shrugged off William's arm without any pretense and snapped, "You can go now!"
William just smiled at her, eyebrow quirked in amusement. "Aren't you going to thank me, Hayden?"
"Thank you?" Hayden raised an eyebrow back at him. "For what? For bumping into me last night so that I spilled my drink all over myself, or for barging into my dorm room, almost seeing everything?"
William's eyes twinkled with a sizzling heat.
So, she recognized him.
"I could take responsibility for you."
Hayden couldn't help but scoff as if she had heard a hilarious joke: "No need. You better take responsibility for Michelle."
With that, she yanked open her car door, got in, and shut the door with a loud slam. Then she started the engine and sped away.
William stood still, watching her white car get smaller in the distance. A smile slowly spread across his lips.
By the time Hayden arrived at the restaurant, James, the luxury real estate consultant she had scheduled to meet, was already there.
Before her mother had taken her own life, she'd left a will entrusting all her assets to Hayden and her little sister, Jocelyn.
However, since Jocelyn was still young, Hayden, her adult sister, managed her share of the assets entirely.
