hapter b21 /b

bChapter /bb21 /b

Max sometimes hated Ste, but he never wanted her dead. Especially after the came back and he saw how much she’d suffered, he wanted care of her. Things might get messy, but he breally /bcared for her.

Max walked up to Ste, his voice soft. Teeling better?”

Ste didn’t say anything.

Max got mad. “Ste, care about you. Can’t you tell?”

Ste replied coldly, without looking at Max, “Thanks, Mr. Hayes.b” /b

Her cold and half hearted reply really ticked Max off. If they weren’t in the hospital, he might’ve lost his temper.

Ste was on an IV, and they kept the meds light to not stress her body,

Andrew walked toward Ste’s ward and overheard some bnurses /band doctors whispering,

“I heard the Hayes family left Ste to save Anna and only got Ste backter

“Got her back? Didn’t you see the news? She came back on her own!”

“No way! The Hayes family is so sketchy. I saw Max; he’s hot. I was gonna ask for his number. But now, I wouldn’t marry into that family.”

They noticed Andrew looking and quickly got back to work.

Andrew went up to bMax/b. “How’s it going?”

Max replied, “Much better now. One shot and she should be good to go home.”

Andrew whispered, “Didn’t we agree? She shouldn’t be here. I just got here and people are already gossiping. It’s bad for our rep

Max nced at the nurses and doctors; they noticed his re and hurried off. He then replied, “bDad/b, I couldn’t just leave her, could 17′′

“Get the doctor toe to the house. And keep an eye on her these bdays/b. She shouldn’t go out or move around until she’s better. Who knows what trouble she might cause?”

Word got out that they saved Anna only. A little fuss was fine, but it was not good for their reputation anyway.

Max thought the Hayes family got by on Ste’s money somehow. They couldn’t let her money go to waste on them. He bnodded/b, thinking she’d

understandb. /b

Aut

“bMax /bwas worried. “What if someone finds out?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a n.”

Ste fell asleep during the shot. When she woke up, the needle was out.

Andrew smiled at Ste. “Ste, it’s all set. Momydidn’t know you’re allergic to seafood, She remembered you liked it before, so she made it

“We just asked the doctor and found out you can’t eat many things now because of your health. Don’t worry; we’ll bonly /bmake foods you can eat. bHop /bbon /bI’ll give you a piggyback ride,” Andrew said, turning his back to Ste.

bSte’s /beyes welled up. When she was a bkid/bb, /bshe’d watch Anna riding on Andrew’s back and wish it were her. She had begged Andrew to carry her, too.

Chapter b21 /b

Before Andrew could say anything. Fiona jumped in, “Me, be fair, Dad’s fired from carrying Anna, Why should be carry you bfan/bb? /bYouNich

somewhere else.”

Ste then asked Mac to carry het. Fiona snapped, “Max is not much older than you. He can’t carry you. Ste, why are you being so wubhóra:

After that, Ste never asked again. Seeing Anna so happy on Andrew’s back, Ste really wondered how it felt

But now, she didn’t need it. “I can walk by myself,” she said. As she was about to step down, she saw a bunch of reporters at the door.

The reporters saw the scene and praised Andrew’s fatherly love, “After Ste came back, the Hayes family gave her a warm wee. Andrew wanted to carry her on his back, just like old times.”

“it’s true. No matter what you went through, parents love you the most ”

“That’s so sweet!”

Ste’s face turned pale. She looked at Andrew. “Did you call them?”

Andrew looked away, guilty. “I don’t know. You’re just too popr, they found you on their own.”

Ste didn’t buy it. Earlier, Fiona had told her not to go to the hospital and Ste know why. They were scared people would see Ste’s condition band /bembarrass the family. They also worried their past woulde out and prople would call them monsters.

But Ste was shocked that Andrew hired reporters to pretend they had a good rtionship, just to cover it up. He always used her.

Ste didn’t want to argue. She got up and left on her own.

She walked slowly, Andrew kept signaling Max, who picked Ste up. She barely weighed anything, with no extra fat. Max had noticed that when she first came home.

Max’s heart ached. But Ste tried to struggle, yet Max held her tightly

Ste wanted to spill their secrets, but Max walked btoo /bfast, giving her no chance.

The reporters kept filming. Then Ste heard Andrew giving an interview.

Andrew said in ake caring tone, “We nned to cook her favorite meals. There, she didn’t eat well. She didn’t even know she’s allergic to seafood now.

“She can’t eat other stuff either, I can’t imagine what my daughter’went through… At that, Andrew, a grown man, started crying on camera.

Everyone was touched.

“What a dad! He’d do anything for his daughter.”

b“/bFor sure. Before that ident, Andrew and Ste were close. Three years ago, his hair turned white. He dyed it to hide it, showing his best side while keeping the pain binside/b.”

“it’s bhard /bto imagine how the Hayes family made it through these three years.”

Ste gripped Max’s arm tightly. She wasn’t strong but what Andrew did was so awful that she suddenly found a lot of strength.

Max looked like he was in bpain/b, wincing

Just as Max was gonna say something, he heard Andrew say. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Ste’s super smart in Dusty Pines, she handled things all by

herself. She’s the best.”

bChapter /bb22 /b