The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Chapter 1153

The moment Soren walked into the lab, Anna could sense something was off with him. The atmosphere turned tense, a stark contrast to the usual buzz of activity. Anna tried to broach the subject a few times, suggesting they could skip the day's experiments if he wasn't feeling up to it. After all, this was his fifth test tube of the day.

"Soren, you..." Before Anna could finish, Soren cut her off with a look that made her swallow her words. "It's fine, do whatever you think is best!"

Soren's glance as Anna gathered her things to leave was laden with sorrow. It was clear she was avoiding him. Why could she interact normally with everyone else but not him? He hadn't done anything wrong.

As Anna hurried out of the lab, aware that no good would come from Soren's anger, she kept her distance for the rest of the day. She even avoided asking him questions, turning to Brody instead.

Soren was left puzzled, spending a good chunk of the day wondering what went wrong.

Finally, after wrapping up the last experiment, Anna cleaned up the lab with an efficiency that saw her out the door in moments, only to find Arnold waiting for her with his car.

"Arnold, you didn't have to come. I've told you, I can get back on my own. You're cutting into your downtime," Anna said, aware that Arnold had been waiting a while, given her tendency to lose track of time during experiments. Arnold waved off her concerns. "I'm not comfortable with you walking back alone, especially with the recent reports of people being followed. I'd rather ensure your safety than worry."

As Arnold finished speaking, a scoff sounded from behind Anna, light but clear to both of them.

Turning, they saw Soren stepping out from the shadows, his gaze on Arnold as wary and warning as it had been in the morning.

Arnold gave Anna a look that seemed to say she was oblivious to the tension. Soren, hesitating, finally spoke up. "If it's inconvenient, I can take you home."

"Soren, that's really not necessary," Anna said, managing to hide her discomfort in the darkness.

didn't want to be near

you had dinner? If not, I've got groceries,

seemed too loud for just the two of them, and his politeness in opening

of Anna's thoughts, Arnold ushered her into the car

feeling a mix of emotions. Despite his efforts to resist, he ended up following them,

across the street, he saw them laughing together as they entered her building and the light in her

found himself in a bar, trying to drown his sorrows. Surrounded by empty bottles, he lamented, "Why doesn't she like me?

Anna's place,

Anna waved him off with a reminder to drive safely. "I'll pick

a matter

masculine pride.

her head

Before she could

en

neared, Anna acted, catching the figure with ease. The warmth of the embrace

heard a muffled

en

look up into Soren's eyes, which seemed different, almost pleading, like a puppy seeking affection. Caught off guard by her own thoughts, Anna quickly looked away, only to find Soren leaning on her, unable to stand on his own. "What are you doing here? And drunk?

opportunity, feigned

questioned, "Is it serious? Should we head to the

was also someone who missed the subtext in