Chasing His Kickass Luna Back by Jane Above Story

Chapter 0160
Abby

The weight of failure feels almost physical, like there’s something sharp and heavy literally lodged in

my chest.

I stare at the computer screen displaying “Truffles Unavailable” in blunt, red letters. I’ve sent countless

emails to suppliers, spent hours scouring online marketplaces, and I’ve even visited local storefronts to

browse their selection, all to no avail.

A part of me wants to give up on the recipe altogether, to throw in the towel and declare the universe

the winner in this sa distic game it’s been playing with me. I could hope that this recipe won’t be chosen,

or at the very least, that I can read enough about it online to get a good idea as to how to make it.

But another part—perhaps the stubborn or perhaps the hopeful part—won’t let me settle for that. What

if this recipe is chosen for the competition? What if the online recipes just don’t do it justice? I need to

be prepared, and this could be my last shot at turning things around.

I close the laptop with a sigh, my eyes drifting to a framed picture of me and Chloe on a past

mushroom hunting trip. It’s not truffles, but maybe, just maybe, I could find something close, something

that’ll at least help me practice the textures and flavors.

…

“Going somewhere?” The voice slices through my thoughts, and I turn around to see Karl standing at

the doorway, his eyes lingering on my hiking boots and backpack. It’s early in the morning, too early for

anyone but me to be here. And yet there’s Karl, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as my grandmother used

to say.

“That’s none of your business,” I shoot back, my voice carrying a sharper edge than I intended. But

really, the last thing I need right now is more complications, more entanglement with him.

He steps into the room, the door falling shut behind him. “Abby, don’t be like this. I told you that I want

to help.”

need help,” I

been mushroom hunting since I was a kid. I’ll

moment, his eyes penetrating, like he’s

find truffles around here,

need to do something, okay? I

shifts, his voice turning stern, his posture more rigid. “Then let me

you.”

blink, surprised. There’s a flash of Alpha energy in his eyes, a silent,

restrained Karl I’ve been dealing with lately. And in that moment,

way.

myself say.

eyes meet mine, and for a split second, I see something there, a glint of something like triumph

relief. “Good,” he says, his voice

leaving me alone in my office, staring at the empty space he just

did I just agree

…

forest floor is soft beneath my boots, each step m ffled by a layer of

earth.

casting the forest in surreal grays

through a dream. Or maybe a nightmare, if something were to come

respectful distance, his footsteps softly echoing my own. We move

the ground for any signs of

a cluster

to take

to reveal the reddish-brown caps. “Definitely not the truffles

yes, they are edible.”

way for a while, discovering various fungi sca

vivid colors, others more muted but no

into a mini biology lesson as I identify them, and the tension that’s

slowly begins to lift.

do you remember that time we went mushroom hunting while

to stop me from picking that

a tinge of nostalgia sweeping over me. “You

up and ended up

for a brief moment, the forest becomes a sanctuary, a

the cool morning air, and nothing else. But then guilt seeps in, muddying

not when I just lost my two best

But then, something happens.

a distant shout cuts through the mist, followed by the disconcerting sound

between

and pulling me behind a large