Chapter 5

Valerie and I exchanged glances, both stunned. We threw on our robes and hurried downstairs.

Downstairs was a total mess.

Aunt Valerie was clutching a tissue box, helplessly circling Jaxon.

Uncle tried to apply an ice pack to Jaxon's neck.

A few blood-stained tissue wads lay scattered on the floor; it did look a bit alarming.

And the cool guy himself was leaning back on the sofa, head tilted, nose plugged with blood-soaked tissues, brows tightly furrowed, looking utterly miserable

. Jaxon grumbled, his voice muffled and thick with a nasal tone, "I'm fine! Leave me alone!"

Aunt Valerie was almost in tears.

"How can you be fine? You're bleeding so much! Oh, and your face is so flushed, are you running a fever? Robert, hurry, start the car, we're taking him to the hospital!"

"No hospital!" Jaxon reacted dramatically, sitting up abruptly. With that movement, the nosebleed seemed ready to gush out again. He quickly leaned back, his voice even more muffled. "I'm fine, it's just… I'm just a little overheated. Some cold water will fix it!"

A thought flashed through Valerie's mind.

"Mom, are you feeding him too many rich foods lately? Young people have such strong constitutions…" She looked suspiciously at Jaxon. "Jaxon, have you been looking at anything… inappropriate?"

Jaxon bristled.

"Nonsense! It's not 'inappropriate' stuff, it's just that I—" He turned red, unable to finish his sentence, only letting out a frustrated grunt.

The truth was out. It was my bikini photo that caused all the trouble.

My eye twitched.

My feelings were complex, a mix of guilt and a slight urge to laugh. Seriously, was he *that* starved? One bikini photo almost turned him into a blood-spitting warrior.

Was that even rational?

After nearly half an hour of frantic activity, the nosebleed finally stopped.

Aunt Valerie, still worried, forced him to drink a large glass of herbal tea before letting him return to his room.

The drama finally ended.

Valerie also breathed a sigh of relief, pulling me upstairs. "Come on, come on, it's fine now. Let's get some rest."

Back in the guest room on the second floor, I walked onto the balcony and opened my phone.

Another string of messages popped up. No need to guess who they were from.

"Sis, I didn't ignore your message on purpose, I just had a little emergency to deal with! [Puppy apology.jpg]"

"Waaah, Sis is so beautiful, I'm so happy ahhh! [Puppy rolling.jpg]"

Another long string of cash transfers.

"Sis, you worked so hard taking photos! For sis to buy beautiful clothes! [Puppy wagging tail.jpg]"

I sat on the balcony lounge chair, the night breeze gently blowing, but it couldn't disperse the turmoil in my heart.

After much thought, I decided to rip off the band-aid.

"Let's break up. I suddenly feel like we're not a good fit anymore."

After hitting send, I guiltily blocked him right away.

Ugh, I really felt like a heartbreaker.

Online romance was wonderful, but reality was just too shocking.

He was my best friend's cousin, and his ridiculous online-to-offline contrast… This relationship just screamed 'bad idea'.

The world went quiet. But my heart felt strangely empty.

Suddenly, a dull thud came from the room next door, like something had fallen.

Then, stifled, broken sobs drifted faintly over. My face changed.

It was Jaxon's voice. The balconies were connected, was he staying right next to me?