Hayley’s Act
Hayley’s good mood instantly crashed as she thought, Anastasia’s getting more shameless by the day!
She’s actually seducing Elliot in broad daylight during work hours! She bit down on her lip and decided
that it was time she resorted to desperate measures.
Hayley gave up on her shopping, ran back to the car and started the engine. She glanced at the low
wall next to the parking lot, and without another thought, she slammed on the accelerator and drove
her car into the structure. The reaction from the impact caused Hayley to knock her head against the
steering wheel.
The pain that followed was so intense that she had to take several sharp breaths to snap out of it. Now
that she crashed the car and had sufficient reason to cry, Hayley inhaled deeply and took her phone
before dialing Elliot’s number.
At that exact moment, Elliot’s phone, which was connected to the car’s system, rang with an incoming
call, thereby disrupting the silence in the vehicle.
Hayley’s name appeared on the screen affixed to the dashboard. Anastasia was already feeling
unsettled, and when she caught sight of the name, she felt even worse.
She turned away from the screen; it seemed as though looking at the name offended her greatly. Elliot
hesitated upon seeing this, but he decided to answer the call anyway. “Hey, Hayley. What’s going on?”
“I crashed the car, Elliot!” Hayley let out a pained whimper. “I’m so scared. Could you come help me,
please?” She started to sob and whine for help.
The car slowed momentarily as Elliot pressed out of concern, “Are you hurt?”
“My head hurts, and I feel like I’m spinning. Elliot, I need you here. It really hurts…” Hayley sobbed
miserably.
Sure enough, that prompted him to want to rush over to her location at once. “Send me the address
and I’ll be right over.”
Next to him, Anastasia snorted when she heard Hayley’s voice. It’s been five years since we last saw
each other, but even I have to say her damsel-in-distress act is somewhat impressive.
Presently, Elliot hung up the call and glanced at the address Hayley had sent him. He turned around
and said to Anastasia in a low voice, “Mind if we take a detour?”
Anastasia shrugged in some sort of a half-hearted agreement. She figured she could go and take a
look at the damage Hayley had done.
Elliot steered the car toward the largest mall downtown and drove down to the third floor of the
basement parking lot. Hayley’s Porsche was still in the same state it had been in when it crashed into
the wall, while the reckless driver herself was crouching next to the totaled car, looking as if she was
trying to keep her head from cracking down the middle. At that moment, she looked up and saw Elliot
getting down from his car. She didn’t seem the least bit surprised that Anastasia had come along,
though.
At once, she flew into Elliot’s arms like a stunned baby bird. “You’re finally here, Elliot…”
And here I was thinking that her head would be caved in and bleeding from the impact, but she’s
hopping around just fine. What a shame that the car is the only thing damaged here, Anastasia thought
bitterly.
“What are you doing here, Anastasia?” Hayley asked, feigning surprise as she tightened her arms
around Elliot’s waist.
Anastasia narrowed her eyes and pointed out mockingly, “It’s embarrassing to acknowledge you as a
female road-user, Hayley. Did you only get your driver’s license through bribery or something?”
Hayley chewed on her lip and stared at Anastasia with red-rimmed eyes as she demanded, “Why do
you have to be so mean, Anastasia?”
“Oh, I’m being mean, am I? I thought you would have lost an arm or a leg or something from the crash.
In fact, I was going to light up fireworks to celebrate the joyous occasion of your fatal accident!”
Anastasia scoffed.
Upon hearing this, Elliot frowned and turned to shoot her a look, as though agreeing that her words
were completely uncalled for.
“Anastasia, you…” Hayley’s eyes turned red at that moment, and she looked like she could barely
stand on her own feet. With a hand clapped over her forehead, she swayed and stumbled into Elliot’s
arms.
Possessed of lightning reflexes, he reached out and steadied her before asking frantically, “What’s
wrong, Hayley?”
“She’s just putting on an act! She’s perfectly fine,” Anastasia interjected sardonically, immediately
seeing through Hayley’s act.
Elliot bit out darkly, “Could you just stop talking for a bit, perhaps?”
Anastasia chewed the inside of her cheek. Since she refused to stay and watch him coddle Hayley, she
rolled her eyes and said, “I’ll get going then.”
“No, don’t go,” he called after her, stopping her in her tracks.
She turned and gave him a long look. What, do you actually have time to bring me home to see your
grandmother?
Elliot looked down at Hayley and muttered, “Hayley, Rey is on his way right now. I’ll have him send you
to the hospital so you can get a full check-up, okay? If the doctor says you’re fine, just go back home
and get some rest.”
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