Chapter 0365
VALERIE.
My heart sinks when | hear his door slam.
What have | done?
What was | doing?
Goddess! I've made a mess of things.
“Val...” Zaia’s no longer smiling as she observes me. “Are you ok? Did | cat a bad time? I'll leave if you
won't take offence. | shouldn't have barged in like this.”
Her warm smile returns as she looks atapologetically, and | shake my head. Walking over to her and hugging
her tightly.
“No Zaia, | need you here. | will never tell you to leave.” You're my girl, my soul sister, damn we've been
together through thick and thin.
| can’t say all that out loud as it’s so mushy, but she is my everything.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
she
My eyes prickle with tears and | hug her tighter and she hugsback. doesn’t questionagain, simply
holdingand running her fingers through my hair comfortingly.
Since Grandma and Dad passed away, she and Atticus are all | have.
How do | tell her?
How do | forgive myself?
How do | face my guilt?
“Con, have your dinner. I'll make us a hot drink.” She givesa gentle squeeze and | appreciate her not
pushing or comfortingby tellingto talk to her. | never liked that.
“You travelled all this way, You need to eat as well. I'll order pizza.”
“I've eaten and your meal is getting cold,” She reminds me, as she opens the paper bag and takes out the
carton, she pauses for a moment and smiles as she takes the lid off. “Oh, it looks delicious, this is my favourite
kind of ramen.’
“Have some, I'm ok. I'm not that hungry,” I sigh.
She shakes her head. “I told you, I've eaten,” she answers, bringing it over to the table. “Now pa
up.”
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| sit down, a part ofwants to save that note but | don’t want Zaia to seekeeping it so | simply watch her
bin the lid before she folds the paper bag and when I'm expecting her to bin it along with the note, she simply
places it to the side with the sticky note and | almost let out a breath of relief.
| love how Zaia does things without questioning why. No matter how busy we are, or how much tpasses, she
understandsthe best. | suddenly feel emotional and grateful she’s here. Even if | can’t tell her my troubles,
her just being here is more than enough.
“Do you have coffee? What a question. This is Val’s place. There is always coffee.” She smiles atand | return
i)
“Always, top cabon the left of the cooker,” | answer, falling silent again as | look down at the bowl. a
I'm torn.
Torn between these feelings that are growing inside offor him and on the other side Jai...
I swirl
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
my chopsticks around the ramen bowl and sigh softly.
His touch... his kiss...
| close my eyes remembering how he kissed me. It was about me... he was attentive to what I liked yet at the
stthe intense passion was... beyond anything | have ever experienced.
His kiss... why did it feel so so damn good? I've never been kissed like that before...
But then, reality hits and the guilt is still here, a stark reminder of the reality of our lives.
How do | deny that | was flirting with him? | can’t deny that. | had teased him and when he had yankedclose;
I had felt excited.
The way he left, banging the door, piled the guilt on, guilt for hurting him. Was he upset with what | said to Zaia?
Or because | was trying to mask his scent?
I don’t know what to do myself; | don’t know what this is...
Is it just a passing attraction or more? And if it's more, then what do | tell my friends and family? How do | tell
them I'm falling for... him?
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Chapter 0366