After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage By Cassila K

Chapter 81

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 narrow cracks, sending an

my fingers, trying to shake off

Erike moved first.

forward and shut the window,

as the last breath of frigid air

pretend... that

I stilled.

second, the words didn't

Then, realization dawned.

echoing Pax's words."What are

was

Only quiet hesitation.

toward me, the tips of his ears tinged red from

his usually steady

Expectation.

A quiet, unspoken hope.

I ever felt something for

Maybe.

spent countless nights side by side, working until exhaustion blurred the edges of

proximity were just that—a passing