Crushed Affections (Dominic and Bella)

Chapter 367 Wait for Me

Leonard shrugged, conceding. "Almost 30... Yeah, close enough."

After a few rounds of drinks, they were both a little tipsy. Lia, munching on a rib, asked, "So, now that your career's set, when are you planning to settle down?"

Leonard deflected with his own question, "What about you? When are you planning to settle down?"

Lia waved him off. "I'm just a regular person. I'm already 25 and haven't even been in a relationship. Guess I can thank you for that. You rich folks like to marry late. Who knows, by the time I've got kids running around, you'll probably still be single." Leonard felt an unexpected pang he couldn't quite place. "No way. If you're getting married, I'm getting married. If you've got kids running around, then I'll have kids running around too."

Lia rolled her eyes. "Copycat. Our lives started in completely different places. Why would you want to sync up with me?"

Leonard didn't reply. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was already 1:00 am, but he wasn't ready to end this last taste of freedom. By the time it was nearing 2:00 am, Lia finally gave in, saying she needed to head home and get some sleep. Even though her apartment was only a few hundred feet from the food stall, Leonard insisted on walking her to her door.

Even Lia, as oblivious as she could be, sensed something different in him tonight. She seemed more reserved than usual. When she unlocked her door, she asked, almost as a formality, "Do you want to come in for a bit?"

Leonard shook his head. "No, it's late. You should get some rest."

take off her shoes, but when

just stood there, facing each other across the doorframe like a pair

was intense, like a dormant volcano on the verge of eruption. However, he seemed to be holding

he said, "Wait

much thought into the cryptic remark. She just nodded quickly, eager to end the awkward

and walked away. She listened to the sound of the elevator descending in the quiet of

...

she encountered a new face-a young lad with an air of

spotless, all-white tracksuit and a backward baseball cup that matched. A few strands of gray-dyed hair peeked out from under

the latest smartphone in one hand, had a Bluetooth earbud in one ear,

of a magazine. It was hard not to be

briefly before moving on, thinking to herself how many girls had probably already

inside the elevator,

lad openly stared at her not in a sleazy way but with an intensity that still made

help but wonder what kids were eating these days to grow so tall. This guy looked like he was still growing, yet he already towered over her by at least a