After 99 days, I Found My True Love
Of
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In the public lecture hall, I handed a still–warm breakfast to Alexander. It was the 99th day I had brought him breakfast.
He accepted it with a smile, then handed it to the school belle, Chloe, with a doting tone: “Here’s the burger and multigrain soy milk you wanted yesterday.”
Chloe took it with a triumphant smile. “Alexander, Samantha’s breakfast is quite good. I want more tomorrow!”
Their interactions made their relationship seem ambiguous.
Alexander smiled and nodded, then turned to me. “Samantha, another burger and soy milk tomorrow, okay?”
I didn’t respond. Alexander assumed I had agreed.
He took my hand and blew on it gently. “Did you burn yourself making breakfast today?”
Alexander was always like this, giving mixed signals–cold for one moment, warm the next. Just when I thought I should give up, he’d make me think
he liked me too.
I gently pulled my hand away. “No, I have classes to attend. I need to go.”
He replied softly, “Off you go, then.”
I turned and left.
After a few steps, I heard Chloe say coyly, “Alexander, aren’t you afraid Samantha will be heartbroken if you keep giving her breakfast away to other girls? She might cry under her covers at night.”
“She won’t. She’s different from girls like you.”
Alexander often said that to me–I was different from other girls.
I used to wonder what he meant. Now, I understood.
Maybe I was just tougher, better at enduring hardship.
But he forgot that no matter how tough I was, I was still just a girl.
That night, back at my rented apartment outside the campus, a message from Alexander popped up on my phone.
“Can you add another cup of multigrain soy milk tomorrow? Chloe said it’s so good that one cup isn’t enough.”
I glanced at it and didn’t reply.
After a while, another message came through.
“What do you want for lunch tomorrow? I’ll take you out. Pick something expensive. My mom knows I’m treating you, and she’ll cover the cost.”
Alexander’s family and mine were neighbors and had a good relationship. The adults often joked about us becoming in–laws one day.
Alexander and I grew up together–we were childhood friends.
When I first confessed to Alexander, he said I might just like him as a brotherly neighbor.
So we made a deal: if I could get up early and bring him breakfast for 100 days straight, he’d agree to date me.
But he didn’t know I had decided to stop after 99 days. I wanted to use those 99 days to show him how much I cared
And I wanted to save the final day for my dignity.
If it would take 100 steps to be with him, I was willing to take 99 steps, but I wouldn’t take the 100th if he wasn’t willing to meet me halfway.
Even if we ended up being together, our relationship wouldn’t be equal.
Yes, I liked Alexander, but I couldn’t allow myself to pursue a relationship that wasn’t equal.
He didn’t know that my feelings for him had already faded over those 99 days.
After staring at his messages for a couple of seconds, I blocked his number.
He probably never imagined that the girl who had followed him around since childhood would one day block him.
But he wouldn’t care.
After all, he was the talented and handsome heartthrob of the department.
Without me, he’d still have countless beauties chasing after him.
The next day, I had no classes, so I stayed home all day.
I had a simple dinner and drank half a bottle of white wine.
My head was spinning, but I wasn’t completely drunk.
Worried I might do something stupid in my drunken state, I thought about asking my best friend Liam to spend the night with me.
In a daze, I sent a voice message to Liam: “Tell… your… brother… to… come… spend the night with me!”
After sending the message, I collapsed onto the bed.
Half–awake, half–asleep, I lost track of time.
A wave of nausea hit me, and I rushed to the bathroom, vomiting violently into the toilet, the smell making me feel even worse.
6:56 PM
I stumbled to the bathroom to clean up, feeling utterly wretched.
After taking a long shower, I finally felt somewhat better.
Just as I wrapped myself in a towel and stepped out, the doorbell rang.
I thought it was Liam.
But when I opened the door, it wasn’t Liam.
It was her brother, Ethan.
The elusive genius and campus heartthrob, more popular with the girls than Alexander.
I stood frozen for a few seconds. “Ethan?”
Ethan seemed taken aback, his ears turning red as he looked down. “How did you know I liked you? Isn’t asking me to spend the right on our first day of dating a bit… too much?”
Dizziness clouded my mind, and I wondered if I had heard him wrong.
[Ethan liked me? How was that possible?]
For a moment, I just stood there, blocking the doorway in disbelief.
His gaze fell on my towel–covered body, and he looked a bit flustered. “Let’s go inside first.”
I wobbled aside, not thinking much of it, and looked at him with half–lidded, tipsy eyes as he walked in.
Just as I closed the door, another wave of nausea hit me.
I clutched my mouth and stumbled towards the bathroom, crashing into Ethan’s broad back.
He turned and caught me by the waist. “Are you okay?”
“I feel like throwing up… Ethan… I feel dizzy… I want to throw up…
I looked up at him, noticing how red his ears had become.
Suddenly, I remembered a time last month when Liam and I were out drinking. I had too much to drink and ended up in Ethan’s room by mistake.
When I hugged him that night, I noticed his ears were just as red.
“Hold on, I’ll help you to the bathroom.
He reached for my bare arm but quickly pulled back as if he had touched something hot.
I noticed that Ethan had beautiful hands–long, with well–defined knuckles.
Those hands seemed long enough to wrap around my waist.
Alcohol always heightened the senses.
For some reason, a rather inappropriate image popped into my head, making me feel parched.
He awkwardly let me lean against him.
I looked up at him.
His thin, sexy lips were a tempting shade of red, like ripe fruit.
Unable to resist, I leaned in and gently sucked on those lips.
The warm, soft sensation was intoxicating.
The fresh scent of pine lingered around him, soothing my stomach and easing the nausea.
‘Samantha!”
His deep voice called my name as he grabbed my wandering hand.
In the dim light, his handsome face was close to mine.
So close that I could count his long, slightly curled eyelashes.
I could also see the barely concealed turmoil in his eyes.
And I could feel the faint tremble in the hand that held mine.
How could someone be so good–looking, with lips that tasted so good?
After becoming friends with Liam, she often praised her brother’s unparalleled looks and intelligence, even joking that I should become her
sister–in–law.
At first, I thought she was exaggerating.
But after meeting him, I realized her language skills were lacking–she hadn’t captured even a fraction of his allure.
Since then, I’d often visit their house with various excuses, sneaking glances at him whenever I could.
Once, I found him reading in the study, bathed in sunlight.
At that moment, he looked like a divine being.
He was so engrossed in his book that he didn’t notice me enter.
I quietly sat down and watched him for a long time, eventually getting tired and resting my head on the desk.
Shamefully. I fell asleep.
6:56 PM
When I woke up, he was still reading, and his jacket was draped over me.
I thought this encounter would bring us closer,
But the next day, when I was at the movies with Alexander, I saw him with Liam.
It was rare to see him outside of school, so I was excited to greet him.
But he just gave me a cold, indifferent glance and walked away.
I felt pretty disappointed.
After that, it became harder to run into him at their house.
My little crush on him faded, and I stopped daydreaming about him..
With the teasing from our parents, I started to develop feelings for Alexander, leading to our 100–day breakfast pact.
But somehow, I found myself back where I started.
“Samantha.” Ethan tilted his head, avoiding my mischievous lips. “Do you know who I am?”
Yes.”
“Who am I?”
“Ethan… Ethan…”
I stammered, not knowing why.
He chuckled softly, his voice low and seductive, making me tremble.
“Good, as long as you haven’t mistaken me for someone else.”
