Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 169 It Was Too Late

She entered the room and noticed that the wooden floor was wet. Following the trail of water stains, it led to the bathroom.

Violeta rushed to the bathroom door and knocked anxiously. "Bro? Bro, what's going on?"

Didn't he say he didn't drink that water? Could Hattie have played some other tricks??

Hayden, who was lying in the bathtub, heard Violeta's voice and suddenly opened his eyes. He turned to face the bathroom door, cleared his throat, and said, "Niall's not here."

Huh?

Violeta was stunned to hear Hayden's voice from the bathroom.

"Hayden? Why are you here? Isn't this Niall's room?"

No way...

Are Hayden and Niall

Just as Violeta was trying to make sense of it all, Hayden's voice came from inside again. "I swapped rooms with him today."

"Why?"

Hayden closed his eyes and leaned back on the bathtub pillow. "That water jug, weren't you worried there was something wrong with it?"

Violeta frowned. "How did you know? You didn't drink from that water jug, did you!?"

"I did."

Before the servant brought the water jug to the room, Hayden was discussing matters in Niall's room, mainly conveying something about a project his dad was working on downtown. The servant brought the water jug in and poured a glass of water for Hayden first, and he drank it.

Later, Violeta hurried in and emptied the jug, so Hayden suspected there might be something wrong with it.

But it was already too late.

So, he simply suggested sleeping in Niall's room instead.

He made up a story about the mattress being too soft to sleep on. Niall didn't think much about it and agreed.

Violeta was very surprised after hearing the whole story.

"So you drank that water. Why didn't you tell me earlier? How do you feel now?"

"I'm fine."

Hayden's tone was cold.

Violeta lowered her eyes, roughly guessing what Hattie might have added to the water.

After glancing at the water on the ground, Violeta turned around, found a towel in the nearby rounded cabinet, and threw it on the ground to soak up the water stains.

Then she walked to the bathroom and asked, "Should I call someone if you're not feeling well?"

The medicine Hattie found on the island was similar to an aphrodisiac.

The medicinal properties weren't very strong. As long as Hayden kept controlling his thoughts and lowered his body temperature, he would be fine. He hadn't reached the point of losing control of his mind. Hayden sighed and said, "No need. I'm fine. You can go back."

Violeta left the room, closing the door behind her.

Hayden, thinking she had gone, relaxed in the bathtub, trying to calm himself down by closing his eyes.

But not long after, he heard the door open again.

"Why are you back?" Violeta had brought a chair and a phone charger.

"You're lying in the bathtub. What if you fall asleep and drown? I'll stay here watching movies just in case."

If Hayden passed out in the tub, he could drown.

His expression fell as he said, "No need. I can manage."

He wasn't foolish. If the drug was too strong, he would have called a doctor already.

"Are you shy? I can get Zoren to stay with you. I can't let you sit in a bathtub full of water. It's not safe." Hayden fell silent.

Get Zoren?

That's basically announcing to everyone what happened.

"Do what you want," he uttered, left with no choice.

Then, neither of them spoke.

Violeta found the horror movie they planned to watch and started it, fully engaged.

She had the volume up, causing Hayden to be unable to sleep due to the scary sound effects coming through the door.

Meanwhile, Hattie, sensing the moment was right, sneaked out of her room, ready to go upstairs to Niall's room.

But as she climbed the stairs, she saw a shadow dart past upstairs, startling her.

She nearly screamed.

Rubbing her eyes, she continued upstairs. As she turned the corner of the corridor, she felt a chill behind her, as if something was watching her. Slowly turning her head, she saw an eagle perched on the railing of the second floor under the dim corridor lights, its eyes fixed on her, eerie and unsettling. Then, from the room ahead, came a faint shriek. It was the soundtrack of a horror movie.

This startled Hattie, causing her to lose her footing and tumble down the stairs.

Thud, thud, thud.

She fell hard.

A servant came with a flashlight to check and was startled when she saw Hattie under the light.

She had rolled down the stairs and lay curled up on the ground. She had hit her head on the pillar, leaving her dizzy and disoriented.