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.”

be linked with you, Xaviera, is an honor for me.”

voice as warm and

you

quickly hung up.

I wasn’t trying to brush Darren off on purpose. I had to check in on my uncle today–it was

in a no–frills residential area in

I got to the staff dorm with some fruit, his colleague told me my uncle had the morning shift and was

and then headed to the street corner to

hadn’t gone far when I heard my uncle’s intermittent voice. My heart skipped a

and dressed to the nines in Chanel

our neighborhood lose its class? Are we hiring security guards

usually meek uncle was nervously clasping his hands, apologizing to the woman while stuttering. “I just thought n–nobody wanted it, I–I’m not

sweat, and his eyes were filled with embarrassment.

“Uncle!”

at the sound of my voice, and a genuine smile briefly crossed his simple

a stutter his whole

his head low, looking like he was caught red–handed.

stepped in front of him and asked the woman, “Ma’am, seems like there’s

chin up arrogantly, “And

“thief” drew

Got any proof?” I glanced at the cardboard boxes at

at me and said, “Denying it, huh? I had my cardboard boxes sitting right outside

the picture

the receiving end of bullying; he’d