Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 20

Before I even finished talking. Cecilia across from me suddenly stood up, staring past me, and stuttered. “Hogan.”

Her eyes were getting even redder as she spoke.

Hogan quickly moved to Cecilia’s side in just a couple of strides, shielding her with his body. and demanded, “What the heck have you two said to her?”

He said “you two.”

That included me too.

When Hogan spoke, a vein on his forehead was throbbing.

He was clearly peeved.

For someone as usually cool as a cucumber like him, this was a rare loss of control, especially with Hilary standing right there.

In my memory, those two, mother and son, had never had a heated argument.

But now, for Cecilia’s sake, even his tone with Hilary had an edge to it.

Hilary seemed blindsided by how things had escalated, pointing at Hogan and saying, “I’m doing this for you, don’t you know that?”

After saying that, she stormed out with tears in her eyes.

Just as I was about to follow, I heard Hogan say, “In a rush to brown–nose?”

tracks, torn between laughter and tears.

up, “Hogan, you’ve got it all wrong, it’s not Xaviera’s

me a skeptical look,

getting my hands dirty

while, I said, “I’m heading back

give you

smile, “Nah, it’s out

office, the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. After this afternoon’s drama, I figured my

I had this nagging feeling that something

Wallis wasn’t

Chapter 20

notification snapped me out of my thoughts.

checked it and, lo and behold,

stared at those tempting digits, my

commend him for

was hesitating, a message caught my eye. [Tough day,

emotion

jaw and accepted the money without a second thought, pondering whether

touch. He’d never let me get

moment’s thought. I putled up my friends list

phone balance, I felt

me and asked, “Xaviera, what

“Heading

realizing something was off, he added in surprise.

mentioned it, which was normal since we weren’t that close.