Chapter 21
Pax Brown came as suddenly as he left.
One moment, he was here–his presence unsettling the entire lab, turning heads, lowering voices into hushed.
whispers.
The next, he was gone.
No explanations. No drawn–out goodbyes.
The others didn’t understand.
I let out a slow breath, feeling the weight lift from my chest.
Beside me, Erike lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes trembling ever so slightly,
But his expression remained unreadable.
“So that’s him?” he asked, his voice quiet. “The ex–boyfriend who pretended to be poor?”
I nodded.
Outside, winter had settled in fully.
Thick snowflakes drifted past the frosted windowpanes, blanketing the city in silver and white.
The wind howled, slipping through the narrow cracks, sending an icy chill through the room.
I curled my fingers, trying to shake off the numbness.
Erike moved first.
Without a word, he stepped forward and shut the window, sealing out the cold.
And just as the last breath of frigid air slipped through, his voice followed–soft, deliberate, unmistakable.
“Can’t you pretend… that it was for me?”
I stilled.
For a second, the words didn’t register.
Then, realization dawned.
He was echoing Pax’s words.“What are you looking at?”
Only this time,there was no teasing. No arrogance.
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Chapter 21
Only quiet hesitation.
Erike turned toward me, the tips of his ears tinged red from the cold.
He pressed his lips together, his usually steady gaze flickering with something uncertain.
Expectation.
A quiet, unspoken hope.
Had I ever felt something for him?
Maybe.
After all, we had spent countless nights side by side, working until exhaustion blurred the edges of reality.
But feelings born out of proximity were just that–a passing warmth, not a fire.
And so, I shook my head.
“I can’t”
He didn’t react.
Didn’t argue.
He had probably expected my answer.
Outside, the snow kept falling–endless, silent, indifferent.
And deep inside, I knew-
There would be no more detours.
No more hesitation.
The road ahead was mine alone to walk and I had already chosen.
I wasn’t here to linger in love stories.
I was here to live my own life
