Sometimes, Jeffrey couldn't help but wonder what he had done to rub Karen the wrong way from the get-go.
Sure, he might have gotten off on the wrong foot with Dorothy, but that was all down to misunderstanding and a touch of self- interest. Time had moved on, and Dorothy had let it slide.So why was Karen still on his case? His words, however, seemed to strike a chord of guilt in Karen.
She took a deep breath, her tone softening significantly, "Look, I think there’s no need to mingle with you since we will be strangers in the future. If my words come off harsh, just bear with them, alright? It's not like you have much of a choice anyway, considering you won't be seeing me around anymore.” The finality in her "you won't be seeing me anymore" left Jeffrey with an uncomfortable twinge in his heart.
It wasn't overt, but the feeling was there.
"Why wouldn't | see you? We're both in Eldorria City," he countered.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"If | don't want to see someone, | won't see them," she snapped, leaving no room for argument and not sparing Jeffrey's feelings one bit.
He had never been one to take such slights lying down. With a defiant twist of his heart, he withdrew his hand, "Fine, then let's not see each other ever again! It's not like | wanted to see you anyway!" With that, he spun on his heel and stormed back to his room.
Karen watched his retreating figure, which seemed to be sulking and snorted.
"Psycho!" Dorothy woke up that afternoon feeling like she'd been put through a wringer — every bone in her body ached.
"You awake?" Everett, who had been working on his laptop beside her bed, immediately put his work aside as he caught her moving.
"Yeah." Dorothy propped herself up, noticing that Everett had simply pulled up a chair to work at her bedside. Irritation flared within her, "When did you wake up? How could you get out of bed by yourself?" Everett replied with a soft chuckle, "I never slept." Dorothy gasped.
"You must be hungry. I'll have something brought up for us." He added.
Dorothy sighed in exasperation, "Just lie down first before you worry about me!" "Just a few more projects to review, then I'll rest," he said, nodding at the laptop screen cluttered with text.
Dorothy knew his presence here was delaying important work back home, but nothing was more crucial than his health.
"How about this: you lie down, and I'll read them out to you, okay?" Everett looked into her eyes for a few seconds before nodding in agreement, "Sounds good." She helped him back into bed with tender care, mindful not to jostle his wounds. Once he was settled, she took her place in front of the computer.
Just as she was about to read, something occurred to her.
"This contract... it has a confidentiality clause, right? Is it okay for me to see it?" "You can see everything of mine," he teased.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmDorothy was taken aback. Lately, his sweet talk caught her off guard and made her blush.
She cleared her throat and focused on the document, but paused.
"A new project in Snowfall City?" "Yes." "It must be gorgeous there in winter when it snows!" Dorothy had seen snow but never visited Snowfall City, only glimpsing it in photos featuring its Central Avenue and the iconic Sophia Cathedral.
Everett's eyes softened; his clean-cut hand was reaching out to hold hers.
"Then when Snowfall City is blanketed in snow, I'll take you there." Dorothy stiffened, and her expression became uneasy.
They wouldn't make it to the snowfall. She thought.
Yet she forced a smile to feign excitement, "Really? That'd be wonderful! I'll pack lots of down jackets.” "Dorothy." "Mhm?" Everett's gaze flickered with a promise, "I WILL take you there."