Echoes of Unrequited Love

Chapter 41

Hogan and I finally parted ways on a sour note..

But this time around, I wasn’t freaking out.

Sure, Hogan was a tough cookie, but with Cecilia in the picture, he’d got his Achilles‘ heel

Had a dreamless night, and when I woke up, my phone was buzzing with a few unread

messages.

They were from Tina.

We hit it off at Darren’s birthday bash and added each other.

[Xaviera, are you and Darren actually an item now?]

She was fishing for some juicy gossip.

It seemed that she caught wind of that post too.

I had no choice but to run through the whole spiel I gave Cecilia yesterday, and ended it with [Do me a solid and clear the air with the rest of the gang, will ya?]

Tina was a peach, and she agreed right away.

But thinking about how all this might affect Darren, I was still feeling edgy, so I gave him a ring.

“This is why you’re blowing up my phone first thing in the morning?” Darren asked in his usual laid–back tone, sounding a bit miffed, “Xaviera, do you really think I’m that petty?”

“Darren.”

linked with you, Xaviera, is an

and comforting as the autumn sun

up at the moment, you go on

hung up.

trying to brush Darren off on purpose. I had to check in on my uncle today–it was his second

area in the eastern part

some fruit, his colleague told me my uncle had the morning shift and was already

handed out some snacks to everyone and then headed to the street corner to

when I heard my uncle’s intermittent voice. My heart skipped a beat, and I hurried

yellow hair, red lips, and dressed to the nines in Chanel style,

class? Are we hiring security

to the woman while stuttering. “I just thought n–nobody

with sweat, and

“Uncle!”

my voice, and a genuine smile briefly crossed his simple face before he looked down again, clearly

stutter

head low, looking like he

asked the woman,

her chin up arrogantly, “And you are? Related to this

a “thief” drew a

calling my uncle a thief. Got any proof?” I glanced

me to push back so hard. She pointed at me and said, “Denying it, huh? I had my cardboard boxes sitting right outside my door, and he just takes. them without a word.

the picture right

had been a pushover his whole life, always on the receiving end of bullying;