Meeting Jayden Again

With teary eyes, Layla immediately ran through the crowd surrounding Agatha. Jayden stared sharply at the fleeing car, his fist clenched tightly. The car's license plate looked familiar. "Just wait, I will teach you a lesson," Jayden thought to himself. His jaw muscles tensed, holding back his emotions. "Daddy! Let's go to the hospital! I want to see Aunt Agatha! I'm scared! She's bleeding, Dad!" Jayden was almost startled when Layla suddenly appeared, shaking her arms. He was taken aback, seeing tears streaming down his daughter's face. Jayden quickly scooped Layla up and wiped away the traces of tears. "Dad, Aunt Agatha must be in pain. We have to give her encouragement," Layla said softly and mournfully. Jayden was touched to see this side of Layla, which she rarely showed. "Are you serious about going there right now?" Layla nodded confidently, her eyes filled with hope. Jayden fell silent. Deep down in his heart, he also wanted to see Agatha's condition and make sure she was okay. Unfortunately, Jayden had a scheduled meeting with an important executive at his company. "Dad, please..." Layla whined again. Jayden furrowed his brow, pondering, "Why does Layla seem so anxious? She has never been like this before." The sound of an ambulance approaching had arrived. Agatha was being taken inside with the help of two people who had called for the ambulance. Jayden briefly watched Agatha before looking back at Layla. The girl was crying again. "Dad, let's go! Aunt Agatha needs us!" Layla shouted after seeing the ambulance drive away. She pounded on Jayden's chest in frustration. Jayden took hold of Layla's small hand. "But Dad has to go to work, Layla. It's late, it's time for you to go home and study." Layla raised her eyebrows and pouted. "I don't want to study before seeing Aunt Agatha! You're mean, Dad, choosing work over me! It means you don't love me because work is more important!" "Layla...." "Just a moment, Dad! Your work can wait until tomorrow! I have to see Aunt Agatha to make sure she's not seriously hurt because she once saved me! I don't want Aunt Agatha to be in pain!" Jayden let out a long sigh. What else could he do? All this time, his reason for survival had been Layla. He was the only thing that lifted Jayden from the depths of his past, the only thing that mattered to him. Jayden did everything to see Layla happy. So now Jayden didn't have any other reason to refuse Layla's request. "Alright, let's get in the car and go to the hospital." Jayden forced a smile as he gently ruffled Layla's silky hair. The sweet girl hugged Jayden's neck and beamed. "I love you, Dad. I love you so much." Jayden smiled fondly and patted Layla's head. "But remember to be polite. Don't make Aunt Agatha, who is already in pain, feel worse by hearing your whining." Layla immediately stared at Jayden in horror. "Aunt Agatha is not like that! She would actually be happy to see me coming to visit her!" Jayden shrugged as he walked towards his car in the apartment parking lot. Layla continued to defend herself with her words until they reached the car. Jayden then opened the door for Layla to sit in the back seat. "Wait here for a moment, I need to make a quick phone call," Jayden said before closing the door after Layla nodded in understanding. Jayden leaned against the car trunk as he took his phone out of his pocket. He searched for Rey's contact number and made the call, connecting to the Bluetooth headset that Jayden was still wearing. But the first thing Jayden heard wasn't Rey's greeting. He frowned, as he heard an annoying voice instead. "Hey, you want to keep doing it while on the phone?" Jayden grumbled, and finally the sigh on the other end of the line stopped. ["Oh gosh, I'm sorry, Boss. Don't misunderstand, I'm just in pain because my leg got cut by glass. My wife is treating it."] "I'm in a hurry, so please listen carefully to this." ["What's—"] "Meet the CEO of Velux Grub company as planned, I have an urgent matter. If you can't attend, just cancel the collaboration." [Boss, but I--] Jayden, who didn't want to hear any refusal, immediately ended the call. A slight grimace appeared on the corner of his lips as he put his phone back into his pocket. Jayden then got into the car and drove to the nearest hospital that was always the go-to facility for patients in need of emergency care. *** Jayden and Layla immediately stood up as the doctor came out of the emergency room. Jayden could feel Layla's grip on his hand tighten. He gently rubbed the back of her hand to soothe her. "Are you the patient's family?" the young doctor asked as he approached Jayden and Layla. Jayden shook his head, looking at the doctor sternly. "I'm her friend, Doc. How is she? Are her injuries severe? Can we visit her?" "Luckily, the girl was brought to the hospital promptly. Her injuries are not too severe, but she was extremely shocked, which triggered a panic attack and caused her to faint. After this, you can go in and check on her condition." Jayden's irregular heartbeat finally calmed down. Layla's eyes, which were filled with concern before, instantly lit up with joy. Jayden turned to Layla, who seemed impatient. "But before that, I'm sorry. Could you go to the cashier to take care of the administrative fees?" the doctor continued after a few seconds. "Alright, Doc. I'll go there. Thank you for treating my friend." Jayden smiled tightly and followed the doctor's steps. Layla, although confused, followed obediently by her father's side. After all the fees were settled, they returned to see Agatha, who had been transferred to a regular room. Jayden allowed Layla to open the door first. Once they entered, Layla quickly ran to Agatha's bedside. Jayden closed the door and followed behind. "Aunt Agatha!" Agatha, who was about to sit up, was startled to see Layla by her side. "Oh, Layla? How did you come here?" Agatha looked at Layla, but also glanced at Jayden walking behind her. They exchanged glances for a few seconds until Agatha quickly averted her gaze. Suddenly, her heart started beating faster than usual. "I saw that Aunt Agatha was hurt, so I came here to make sure Aunt Agatha is okay. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you," Layla explained with her head bowed and her voice barely above a whisper. Agatha was touched by Layla's words. She gently rubbed the back of Layla's hand and smiled softly. "You want to repay the favor, huh? But your presence here is already enough, Layla. You don't need to worry about repaying any favor." Layla instinctively lifted her head. Her eyes sparkled. "Really? Is Aunt Agatha happy now that I'm here?" "Of course. I thought it was all just a dream," Agatha replied with a small smile. "Because it seems like fate has brought me back to Jayden," she thought to herself.