Her Heart Her Terms (Lily and Xavier)

Lily could tell which restaurant the dishes were from just by looking at them.

"Are you feeling touched?" Hayden asked while handing Lily a set of cutlery. "Don't start crying out of gratitude for me just yet. Eat now while the food's still hot. It won't taste as good once it goes cold."

Lily accepted the cutlery. However, the door to the ward opened before she managed to take a bite. Xavier entered the room. He only realized it was dinner time after noticing Lily and Hayden having dinner.

"Why are you here?"

Hayden looked annoyed. It was just then he noticed the blazer and notebook on the couch. "Take your things and leave. I'll take good care of Lily!"

"No one needs to stay. I hired a caretaker."

Only after the words left Lily's mouth did she realize with some irritation that the caretaker she had requested at noon had not appeared even once.

Xavier walked over to the couch and sat down, looking like he had no intention to leave. "I canceled the request."

Lily's expression was tight with displeasure. It became clear that Xavier wasn't going to listen to her no matter what she said. He would make his own decisions while ignoring her feelings and opinions.

"Even if there's no caretaker, you don't need to stay," Hayden hissed angrily. "I'II look after my sister. If you're so free, you should go to the police station and take care of the person you actually care about."

Lily's lashes trembled hearing Hayden's words.

Xavier's face remained impassive, and his voice was neutral when he said, "The evidence proving that Sarah and Bruce were conspiring together is conclusive. The police will wrap up the case in no time."

Surprise washed over Hayden's features. He looked at Lily, seeking answers from her. What did Xavier mean? Was he not going to protect Sarah anymore?

"Hayden, you just recovered, and you're busy with work too. You don't have to stay. Go home."

Lily ignored Hayden's questioning gaze. She didn't want to talk about Sarah, and she didn't want Hayden to stay in the hospital with her.

If there was someone who needed to stay behind to shoulder the blame, how could she possibly allow Hayden to do it?

"My body's fine," Hayden insisted. "Let's eat dinner first, Lily."

Lily gripped the cutlery in her hand. "If you don't leave, I won't eat."

Hayden shot a look at Xavier. The latter didn't look like he was going to leave. Hayden had no choice but to concede to Lily's wish.

"Fine, I'll come again tomorrow."

"Okay, let's eat. Go back and rest once you're done," Lily advised him before she began to eat.noveldrama

If Xavier hadn't been in the room, Hayden and Lily would have conversed as they ate. Their meal was spent in silence as they lowered their heads and focused on eating.

They finished the meal in ten minutes. Hayden packed up the thermal food containers. As he made his way to the door, he kept looking back at Lily.

Lily lay down on the bed. She switched on her phone and did a quick search. The news articles about Sarah were all gone.

Lily wasn't the only one who had noticed the disappearance of the articles. Maryanne sent her a few messages, complaining about the strange turn of events. At the same time, she asked if Xavier had stayed behind to take care of her.

Lily replied, "He's here."

"What do you think he's up to? He escalated the situation, let the police arrest Sarah, and now he's blocking the news from spreading online. What could he be after?"

Lily couldn't guess what Xavier's intentions were. To be honest, she also didn't want to guess.

Lily was lost in her thoughts when she was pulled back to the present by the chime of her phone. She thought it was another message from Maryanne, but it was from Terence.

"The police questioned me today. They said that Sarah insisted you and I worked together to frame her."

Lily hadn't expected the police officers to seek out Terence as well. Her nimble fingers flew across the screen as she typed out an answer.

"I'm sorry. You got dragged into this because of me."

"No need to apologize. I'm just curious why Sarah would think you and I would frame her."

Terence could understand if Sarah tried to shift the blame onto Lily. But why was he involved too? He wasn't looking for a person to pin the responsibility on; he just wanted to know why. He had gotten involved in their issues in the past, but Lily had stopped him from proceeding further.

"There won't be a next time."

Lily avoided addressing Terence's curiosity, not wanting to revisit the dregs of the

past. She would rather look toward the future.

She was only worried that Xavier

would insist on looking after her until

she was discharged from the

hospital. She hoped that they would

return to living their own lives after she left the hospital.

As for Sarah, Lily couldn't be less bothered. If Lily continued to interact with her, it

meant that she wouldn't be able to have a clean break from Xavier.