NovelEnglishChapter 1209: Cliff kept his eyes lowered, methodically washing her body. "Because you made a wish this year, and I overheard it." "You were eavesdropping?" Laney's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Cliff's chuckle filled the air. There was no need for eavesdropping when her eyes had been confessing to him every single day.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSomething tugged at Cliff's conscience-the moment felt right to speak certain truths. But her happiness in this moment was pure, untainted. He couldn't bring himself to shatter it.
"What's wrong, Cliff?" Laney asked, catching the shadow that passed across his features.
Cliff's throat tightened, but the words remained trapped inside. Which cut deeper-never having tasted happiness, or having it slip through your fingers once you'd known its sweetness? For Cliff, the answer was clear: better to have loved and lost. That was why he chose to fulfill Laney's wish without conditions, even though his impending marriage to Juliet loomed at year's end. At least Laney had these memories of happiness. But when news of his marriage eventually surfaced, Laney's heart would break. He hoped the pain wouldn't persist.
Cliff remained vigilant at Laney's bedside until sleep claimed her, his mind a battlefield of conflicting thoughts. He'd always detested making choices, yet this year had beca labyrinth of decisions and compromises, leaving his soul restless.
Life resumed its relentless pace. Laney returned to the theater while Cliff immersed himself in company affairs, their paths barely crossing in the rush of days.
True to her nature, Laney kept her distance from his professional world, waiting for his invitations rather than appearing uninvited at his company.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmOnly when the ache of missing him becunbearable would she send a message, though his responses were as rare as stars in the city sky, arriving only in the hushed hours of the night.
Their encounters, too, belonged to the darkness inside the Hopkins residence.
Cliff would slip into her room to find Laney suspended between sleep and wakefulness, her drowsy requests for kisses met with a newfound restraint—his touches light, almost hesitant, never delving too deep. The exhaustion etched in his features stirred guilt in Laney's heart. "Cliff, maybe I should just stay in the apartment from now on." She knew the truth-he needn't rush home. Staying at the company or his private residence after work would spare him precious time.
Cliff's silence stretched between them before he agreed, his voice barely above a whisper. "Take care of yourself, practice your dance, and eat well." Laney nodded, her movements laden with reluctance as she gently pushed him away. "Go get ssleep."
With his parents in the house, sharing a bed wasn't an option. The separation gnawed at Laney it had ve beem to long since she'd last seen him, and her heart ached with longing. But proximity bred danger, and they both knew it.
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