Chapter 561 William and Hayden
"William, I can help you, but I have one condition."
"Patrick, go ahead."
"I have had my eye on Hayden for some time. I want her to be my son's wife."
"Patrick, I understand."
"Alright, I will send someone to the hospital now."
Hayden, for whatever reason, since you were once so ruthless and decisive, please continue to be so now.
In the deep night, the vehicles on the road were scarce.
When Hayden pressed the accelerator, the car zoomed down the road under the streetlights like an arrow released from a bow.
Whether due to her poor driving skills or blurred vision, she collided with another car at a junction moments later.
Due to inertia, Hayden's body lurched forward. In an instant, the white airbag deployed, but her head still struck the steering wheel heavily. Then, the seatbelt pulled her back.
Blood, so much blood!
Her vision and head were filled with blood.
Hayden faintly felt something heavy in her stomach continuously falling and draining away.
"My dear, never forgive me, never forgive me. Because I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy."
Gradually, Hayden closed her eyes and lost consciousness, slipping into a faint.
The next day, before heading to the company, William visited Michelle at the hospital.
When he arrived at the hospital room, Michelle was sitting on the sofa having breakfast with her parents, a couple who appeared to be in their fifties, likely Michelle's parents.
"William."
Michelle was sitting on the sofa with her parents, having breakfast.
The door to the room was ajar. When William appeared at the door, she immediately called out to him, setting down her plate and about to stand up.
But in the process, she grazed the wound on her back, and the intense pain caused her to frown instantly.
"You sit, don't move." William walked in and promptly gestured for her to stay put.
"You must be William, Michelle's former classmate, right?" Billie Shaw, Michelle's mother, looked at William, then set down her food and stood up, smiling.
Yeager Shaw, Michelle's father, scanned William from head to toe, gradually narrowing his eyes in confusion.
"Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, I am William." William nodded, looking at Michelle's parents, a gentle smile playing at his lips. "Michelle got injured saving me, causing you to delay coming here to take care of her. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, if you have any requests, please feel free to voice them."
"William, are you from Feayuun City?" Yeager looked at William, scanning him again before asking.
Looking at Yeager, William nodded. "Yes, I'm from Feayuun City. In recent years, my family relocated to River North for business. Perhaps we've met before?"
"Do you remember when you were around eight or nine years old, you were playing by the seaside and almost got swept away by the waves?" Yeager asked William after sizing him up.
William furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at Yeager, beginning to recall, and suddenly remembering. Surprised, he exclaimed, "Mr. Shaw, it's you."
"Yes!" Yeager also burst into laughter. He extended a warmly affable hand to pat William's shoulder, saying, "I never expected this, truly didn't expect it. Twenty-one years later, and you're already a CEO of a corporation."
"Dad, do you know William?" Michelle, curious and excited, asked on the side.
Despite her excitement, she managed to contain it, keeping her demeanor reserved.
"Yes, we know each other." Yeager glanced at Michelle, smiling, and nodded. "Back then, William was only about eight or nine, and you were about six or seven. We were at the seaside, and you were there too. You were the one who first noticed William was swept away by the waves, shouted for help, and then I swam over to save him."
"It was him." Michelle, incredulous, looked at her father, then at William. She spoke with disjointed excitement, "This is so incredible! After all these years, I never recognized William. Dad, how did you figure it out?"
Yeager nodded with a smile, pointing to a crescent-shaped scar on the back of William's left hand. "You see, William has a crescent-shaped scar on the back of his left hand that I've always remembered."
William raised his left hand. There was a faint crescent-shaped scar on his hand, not very conspicuous. However, with a closer look, it was unmistakable.
In his playful youth, he had dripped melted plastic on his hand, resulting in a scar after being burned.
"Honey, now that you mention it, I remember too. Back then, William drank a lot of seawater, lost consciousness, and thankfully was rescued in time, otherwise..." Billie looked at William, also excitedly recalling.
"Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, if it hadn't been for you risking your life to swim over and save me, and then Mrs. Shaw using the right methods to treat me promptly, I couldn't have everything I have today. I owe so much to you, Mr. and Mrs. Shaw." Facing his saviors, William's face broke into a rare genuine smile.
Michelle watched him, more fascinated by the minute.
She never would have imagined that twenty years ago, their family had saved William's life. Yesterday, she saved him again.
Now, it might be difficult for William to reject her.
"The main credit for saving you back then doesn't belong to us; it's Michelle's." Yeager chuckled and affectionately patted William's shoulder. "If it weren't for Michelle noticing you were being swept away by the waves in time, I wouldn't have had enough time to swim over and rescue you."
"Isn't it so!" Billie also nodded with a smile. "Your first glance when you came in seemed familiar; I just couldn't remember who you were for a moment."
"Come on, William, please have a seat." Yeager pulled William to a place at the table.
William nodded and sat down, enjoying a jovial conversation with the Shaws over breakfast.
Meanwhile, in another VIP ward in a hospital, Justin stood by a hospital bed, watching anxiously as Hayden lay unconscious with her forehead bandaged and her face pale. Finn was still recuperating in the hospital and had not fully recovered. Now, with Hayden's car accident and hospitalization, The Bush Smith Group had no one leading.
If this news spread, he didn't know how much turmoil it would cause.
From the moment Hayden was brought to the hospital last night until now, he had been struggling with whether to inform Finn or the other shareholders of the group about Hayden's car accident and hospitalization.
But if Finn learned about Hayden's car accident in his current condition, his health might deteriorate further.
And not all board members might be devoted to the Bush Smith family. If anyone caused trouble during their hospital stay, the Bush Smith Group would surely face internal unrest.
It was already nine o'clock in the morning. Originally, Hayden was supposed to hold a senior management meeting at the River North branch at nine in the morning.
As Hayden's assistant, Justin had the authority to temporarily postpone or cancel the meeting. However, if Hayden remained unconscious for several days, the situation would become truly dire.
Restless, Justin had no choice but to go find a doctor. He wanted to know if there was any way to wake Hayden up by this morning.
Just as Justin left the ward, on the hospital bed, Hayden's long lashes quivered, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, streaming down like two small brooks.
All her lost memories replayed in her mind like a movie on rewind. Every scene from the moment she boarded the plane to Southern was vivid and profound.
She remembered taking the abortion pills at her grandmother's house, feeling the child in her body gradually slipping away. Even in her sleep, Hayden couldn't hold back her wails of grief.
As the memories played out, her crying intensified.
Sophia, Nikolai, Hall, and Pierre—Hayden wished to tear them apart with her own hands.
Finally, as she vividly recalled the moment in the Johnson villa where she mercilessly stabbed Hall numerous times, Hayden slowly opened her eyes. She had awakened.
Staring at the snowy white ceiling above her, her tear-filled eyes were crystal clear.
She remembered everything. All of it flooded back to her.
She loved William! She loved him! She didn't want to lose him again! She didn't want...
She had to win him back! She absolutely had to win him back.
"Hayden!"
Justin had gone to find the doctor. When he returned with the doctor to the ward, he was thrilled to see Hayden awake with her eyes open.
"Hayden, you're awake? That's wonderful!"
Hayden turned her head slowly to look at Justin, her voice hoarse as she asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"
"Hayden..." Justin felt relieved at seeing her so clear-headed after waking up. He exclaimed excitedly, "It's only been one night!"
Hayden nodded slightly, then inquired, "What time is it now?"
Checking the time on his watch, Justin replied, "Nine eighteen in the morning."
"Did you postpone the meeting?" Hayden followed up.
"Yes." Justin nodded. "For now, it's canceled, and a new meeting time is to be determined."
"That's good." Hayden nodded again, then tried to sit up.
At this moment, the doctor stepped in to prevent her. He spoke gently, "Lady Bush Smith, don't rush. You have a mild concussion. Let me reexamine you, you can sit up later."
Hayden glanced at the doctor, nodded, and allowed him to conduct the examination.
