63.
December 15th, 2020
Ilooked at Sage – who gave me a huge grin and a thumbs up – and then at the door in front of me. With a deep inhale and a long exhale, I wrapped my fingers around the cold handle, knocked on the door twice, and then opened it slowly.
Gallan stopped in the middle of saying something to the people in front of him, and when his eyes landed on me, they narrowed a little as a look of surprise took over his face.
He looked absolutely gorgeous in a grey dress shirt whose sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, black pants, and his signature messy, wavy hair falling over the right side of his forehead.
“Hey,” I said to no one in particular as I strode further inside the room.
Gallan’s companions turned, and the one on the left gave me a huge smile.
“Hey, Zaira,” Kenneth greeted.
“Hey.” I waved at him, and then glanced at the woman on his right. “Hello, Lady-who-looks-like-Kenneth.”
Gallan made a sound but didn’t say anything, whereas Kenneth just laughed. “She’s my elder sister, Natanya,” he introduced.
Natanya smiled at me. “It’s so good to finally meet you. Gallan talks about you all the time.” She offered me a hand.
“Fucking perfect,” Gallan mumbled, to which Kenneth chuckled.
I shook Natanya’s hand as I looked between her and Gallan. “He does, doesn’t he?”
“Oh, hedoes.” She smirked. “And why wouldn’t he? You’re a sight for sore eyes. I was so sick and tired of seeing these two idiots’ faces for the past hour. I needed my beauty fill.”
I grinned at her. “Why do I get the feeling that we’re going to be the best of friends?”
She chuckled. “Because you’re smart. I’ve got the exact same feeling.”
Kenneth cleared his throat. “So…I think, uh, Natanya and I should…leave?”
Natanya’s brows furrowed as she looked at her brother. “What? Why? We were just getting to the design patterns…” She trailed when Kenneth raised his brows and gave her alook. “Oh…I see.” She closed and grabbed a few files from the table before getting to her feet. “We can go over the final picks tomorrow. What do you say, Gall?”
Gallan’s jaw ticked as he nodded at her. “Sure, no problem.”
“Perfect!” She clutched her purse in one hand and smiled at him.
Kenneth stood. “I’ll see ya later,” he said to Gallan, and then faced me. “Bye, Zaira.”
I smiled. “Bye.”
As he stepped out of the cabin, Natanya stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. “Good luck,” she mouthed, and then gave me a subtle wink before closing the door behind her.
I wrung my hands together as silence filled the air. “Hi…”
Gallan glared at me from his chair.
“Uh…” I wiped my upper lip with the back of my hand. “I love you…” The words suddenly spilled out of me. Not that I didn’t mean them. I don’t think I’ve ever spoken a truth truer than the one I’d just blurted in my haze of sheer nervousness.
Gallan’s expression remained stoic. “Stop this, please. I’m not interested.”
“But it’s true; I love you.” I stepped closer to his table.
He scoffed. “You love me, and that’s why you pushed me away and said you didn’t want me anymore? Is that how love works for you?”
I blinked when my eyes stung. “I fucked up, okay?” I said honestly. “I fucked up, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I realize now that I was wrong.” I pushed my glasses up a little. “Everyone kept telling me that I’d need you to heal and to get better, but I wanted to do it all on my own. I was so confident that I could go back to being the old me if I focused and did things my way, but…” I shrugged.
