09
As we walked home, I often felt a tingling sensation in my fingers.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Nick tentatively reaching out to me, only to quickly pull his hand back.
His hands were large, with slender wrists.
The veins beneath his skin had a subtle blue hue, perfectly accentuated. I was into it.
Nick had been testing the waters for a while, and when he noticed me watching, he turned his head away, his ears flushing a deep crimson.
He casually shoved his hands into his pockets, trying to play it cool.
Nick’s ears turned red so easily.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and boldly took hold of his.
Nick didn’t dare look at me, but he secretly squeezed my hand back.
We walked like that, awkwardly, all the way to the bottom of my building.
But when we reached the entrance, Nick’s expression fell again.
Andrew was standing there, holding a bouquet of flowers, his gaze lingering on our intertwined hands.
I instinctively started to pull back, but Nick tightened his grip, reminding me that Andrew was no longer a part of my life.
Andrew looked a bit forlorn, yet his words still managed to sting. “Don’t use someone else to get back at me, Evelina. I know I messed up.” Instead of defending myself, I said, “What about Amelia?”
From what I understood, Amelia’s parents had put a stop to her relationship with Andrew, insisting she focus on her recovery.
They had only recently discovered that she had even been dating him.
I glanced at the fresh bouquet of multi–colored roses in his hands.
They were my favorite flowers, the ones he used to bring me every so often.
But I remembered the photo of him with Amelia trying on wedding dresses, and there was that same bouquet.
I kept my tone steady. “You can’t send the same flowers to two people. You regret it now, but that’s just because your double–dealing didn’t work out. You weighed your options and chose poorly. Do you really think I mean that much to you? Is it the time we spent together that makes you feel like it’s not worth it to let me go? Or am I just your backup plan because you can’t have Amelia?”
I squeezed Nick’s hand tighter, adding, “I’m not the kind of person who clings to sunk costs, and I hope you’re not either.”
For seven years, I genuinely liked Andrew.
But people changed.
The Andrew, who used to say Amelia was being unreasonable and that we didn’t need to consider her feelings, was long gone.
Finally, Andrew noticed the disappointment in my eyes.
He forced a smile. “I just made one wrong choice…”
I didn’t want to engage any further.
I lowered my gaze, ready to call security.
Just then, Nick’s grip loosened, and our marriage license slipped from his hand, landing on the ground.
Feigning surprised, he picked it up. “Whose marriage license is this?”
Andrew’s forced smile vanished, his gaze momentarily lost on the license.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as Nick dusted it off and carefully tucked it into his pocket.
Ignoring Andrew’s reaction, I walked straight into the elevator with Nick.
The elevator dinged to a stop on the
The.
10
He forced a smile, juan
I didn’t want to engage any further.
I lowered my gaze, ready to call security.
Just then, Nick’s grip loosened, and our marriage license slipped from his hand, landing on the ground.
Feigning surprised, he picked it up. “Whose marriage license is this?”
Andrew’s forced smile vanished, his gaze momentarily lost on the license.
I couldn’t help but chuckle as Nick dusted it off and carefully tucked it into his pocket.
Ignoring Andrew’s reaction, I walked straight into the elevator with Nick.
