Chapter 469 William and Hayden （70）
Realizing the battle had turned against them and seeing William take multiple hits, Hayden's panic replaced her earlier resolve. She rushed over, shielding William, and pleaded, "Stop! I'll go with you. Just stop!"
With Hayden agreeing to go with them, the bodyguards ceased their assault.
"Hayden..." William began, his voice tinged with concern.
"William!" Hayden turned back to face him. She tenderly cradled his bruised face, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth while smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry about me; I'll be fine! Just like Jasper said, 'Even a tiger doesn't eat its cubs.' He won't harm me."
Despite her efforts to stay composed, tears freely streamed down Hayden's cheeks.
William also reached out to gently wipe away her tears, his eyes reddening with emotion. "Hayden, as long as you don't want to go, I'd risk my life today rather than let you leave."
Observing him, Hayden vehemently shook her head, her tears flowing even more intensely. "No, I want you to live, to live well. If you dare die or go fighting against others, then I might as well marry someone else and never forgive you for the rest of my life."
"Hayden..." William's voice trailed off, fraught with emotion.
"William, let her go. It's not like you won't see each other again after today. There will be plenty of other opportunities." Jasper leaned against the back of the couch, badly bruised. "Look at this, eight here, two more outside, and it's just the two of us. We can't beat them."
Glancing at Jasper, Hayden nodded tearfully, "Yeah, William, you wait for me. I'll come back for you soon, trust me."
Looking at the tear-streaked young woman in front of him, William understood why she was crying so hard. She had seen him get hurt. They had been together for four months, and this was the first time he had seen her cry, and she was crying for him. Bending down, he kissed Hayden's forehead and said solemnly, "Okay, I'll wait for you. I'll wait for your return, no matter when."
Hayden shut her eyes tightly, nodding frantically, unable to speak as her sobs broke through her nose.
The next second, she let go of William, turned, and strode toward the exit, afraid that if she stayed a second longer, she would change her mind and couldn't bear to leave.
"Hayden!" William reached out to grab her but grasped a fistful of cold air.
Without looking back, Hayden walked out, tears streaming down her face.
Seeing her go, the bodyguards naturally followed her out promptly.
After Hayden had left, disappearing from view, William clenched his fist and slammed it against the wall.
Bang!
Instantly, the white wall bore the imprint of four bloody knuckles.
"Don't worry. Hayden will definitely come back to you, no matter what," Jasper said, trying to console him as he saw the pain on his friend's face.
But what Jasper didn't understand was that the greatest source of William's pain wasn't that Finn had forcibly taken Hayden away; it was his own feeling of helplessness at that moment.
...
Slap!
Hayden was pushed back into the villa owned by Finn.
As soon as they were indoors before the bodyguards could even let go of her, Finn raised his hand and delivered a brutal slap to her face, the sharp sound resonating throughout the villa's grand hall. Hayden wasn't the only one shocked by the slap; even the bodyguards were caught off guard.
Finn had put his full force into that slap.
Within seconds, five swollen fingerprints appeared on Hayden's face, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"After all these years, it turns out I've raised you for nothing." Finn spat out after hitting her, pointing at Hayden with unabated anger. "Reading those books was a waste, obviously. Now, immediately, you're going to come back with me."
—Immediately come back.
Stunned from a blow that left her ears ringing, Hayden snapped back to reality, locking eyes with Finn. A cold laugh escaped her lips as she declared with unwavering determination, "I'm not going back. I'd rather die than go back."
"Oh, you'd rather die than go back, huh?" Finn said, looking at her with fury. "All because of that, William, isn't it?"
"Yes, it's for him! What about it?" Hayden shot back defiantly.
At that moment, Hayden's mind was filled with thoughts of William, humiliated and injured because of Finn. Overwhelmed by grief and anger, she lost much of her rationality, unable to grasp the simple truth that might make things right.
"What about it?!" Finn shouted, his face livid with rage. "Hayden, I'm laying it down right now; even if you die, I'll drag your body back. I will not leave you to that, William, tarnishing The Smith family's reputation."
Listening to Finn's shouts, Hayden's anger transformed into bitter laughter, but soon tears started to trickle down her cheeks.
So, this was how insignificant she was to Finn – worthless even in death. No matter what she renounced from the Smith family, he would never allow her to have what she truly desired.
All her dreams, her hopes, were nothing but futile wishes.
---
It was all a fantasy, a one-sided dream.
"You worry about William tarnishing The Smith family's reputation, but what about you, Finn? What about Sophia? Were you not disgusted with yourselves, secretly getting together behind my mother's back?" Hayden's face was streaked with tears, but her heart was ashes. "My mom passed away less than a month ago, and you're already bringing home a mistress like Sophia. Do you think anyone could be more disgraceful, more shameless?"
Before she could complete her sentence, Finn's hand shot out again, another slap interrupting her and jerking her head to the side, silencing her abruptly.
Without giving Hayden a chance to recover, Finn barked orders at his bodyguard, "Take her back to her room and make sure she doesn't communicate with anyone or step out without my permission. Tomorrow, she comes back home with me. And get her a leave of absence from school."
Without a word, the bodyguard nodded and ushered Hayden upstairs.
Pushed forward by her bodyguard, Hayden snapped back to reality and immediately began to fight back fiercely, shouting, "No, I won't take a break from school, I won't go back, I won't rest, I don't want to go back, I don't want to!"
