A deal with the devil

Cupler 93.

Every time Shirley got close to him, Samuel had to summon all his strength to force himself to push Shirley away Even during their kisses, he held back, terrified of crossing a line and betraying Sophia.

Only now did Samuel realize how foolish he’d been

She had put on a wedding dress and almost became his bride And yet, he had celidly abandoned her, turning her into the subject of cruel gossip throughout the city.

The woman who once adored him, who couldn’t go a day without clinging to his side, now had no room left in her life for him.

was his fault. He had pushed her into another man’s arms.

The bitterness of it all consumed him, but he could only swallow it, silently enduring the torment of his own making.

That night, Samuel sat staring at Shirley’s phone until dawn.

The next morning. Shirley tied awake at the sound of Benjamin moving about Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she got out of bed and quickly freshened up in her room before heading to the dochen

When Benjamin walked in, Shirley had already prepared a bowl of oatmeal, looking at him intently,

Benjamin sat across from her, giving her a cold, skeptical glance as though she were up to something

sweetly. “Benjamin, s thinking, why don’t I

make you tea or coffee, and if you get tired, I can

muld do that,” he replied without even looking up, shutting down

leaned in. “I’d really like to learn more about

to the memory of Shirley attempting to read a book yesterday, only to fall asleep for two hours after past 30 minutes.

up. “So, you

to

Benjamin looked up and said dryly, “In your dreams.”

fell instantly, and she looked at him with wide, pleading eyes. “Tenjamin, what do I have to do to get you to unground

calmly, “Che me a reason

reason would

to visit my parents and

didn’t even know how you got home

what to

embarrassment. Trying to recover, she quickly

said nothing, but his silence seemed to be challenging her to say

she insisted “Last night, Damian even helped take care of Megan. I