No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

Chapter 35



"Girl." The voice on the other end of the phone was thick, familiar, yet distant.

A familiar face flashed before my eyes, and I called out, "Dustin."

I had thought changing my number would keep the Wagner family at bay, but I never expected Conrad's brother Dustin to track me down. Even more surprising was his decision to reach out.

"Looks like you saved my number. Didn't forget about me," Dustin teased.

He was only a few years older than Conrad. Before he went abroad, he always looked out for me, fondly calling me "little girl."

I was at a loss for words, detecting a hint of complaint in his tone. We'd occasionally talk during the first two years after he left, asking about each other's lives. Gradually, those calls faded. Dustin was never one to initiate, maintaining sparse contact even with his family, let alone with me.

must be about my broken engagement with Conrad. Despite Dustin's sporadic communication with his family, they kept each other informed about the critical

straightforward by nature, preferring to ask rather than

once to pay your phone bill." Dustin's memory impressed me.

my dad's phone became a keepsake. When it got disconnected, I decided to pay the bill. But I was short on cash and too embarrassed to ask his parents for money, so I turned to Dustin. Concerned I might spend the money elsewhere, he accompanied me to make the payment. He paid the bill and memorized my

he called, I teased, "Are you calling to

that's right," he

I followed his lead. "Then I'll

"Felicia," Dustin interrupted.

gripped my phone

After a pause, Dustin continued pleasantly, "My parents are worried about you. They can't find you and are very anxious.

Jacqueline would be upset, but I hadn't anticipated how severe their reaction would be. Guilt and concern tightened my breath.

some high blood pressure because of all the stress," Dustin paused before

again. It seemed I

a headache. I massaged my temples, "Didn't you ask Conrad?