His arms tighten around me, and he presses a kiss to the top of my head. “I love you too. Sleep now and know that you’re cherished more than anything in this world.”
With that assurance, I finally allow the pull of sleep to take me, and in this perfect moment, I find a peace that I’ve spent years searching for yet never truly grasped until now.
TWENTY-ONE
At my desk,I’m drowning in a sea of emails and reports. My eyes are strained from staring at the computer screen for hours. It’s already late afternoon, but I guess it’s going to be the second day in a row that I’ll have to work overtime, and what I desperately need is more sleep.
Yesterday, after Misha held me in his arms for an hour or two, I had to push through the day exhausted. At least that meant that in the evening, I was so exhausted that I fell asleep around eight p.m., with no time to stress about sleeping alone or feeling scared.
But today, I’m still groggy and was quiet at lunch. I hope the guys know that all is good because it is.
I’m happy.
If it weren’t for the frustration of my project being gone and being relegated back to being justthe Smart Home girl, life would be perfect.
I’m still debating whether to let the dream of the lensless AR go or to start over from scratch. If I start new, I might be late to the party, but now that I know what I’m doing, I could potentially add a new spin on things.
It could still be good.
Not groundbreaking, but good.
And good can be enough, right?
That thought brings my parents and August to mind. None of them have tried to contact me, not even Abigail. I’m still sure that going with no contact from my side was the best way to go, but it still stings a little that they don’t care. However, it’s only a reaffirmation of what I already know.
When I don’t play by their rules, I’m not worth anything to them.
And that’s fine.
I’m fine.
Even if I never talk to them again and remain stuck asthe Smart Home girlhere, I still have Misha, Grey, and Oliver, and they have me.
Life is good.
The afternoon monotony is suddenly shattered when the door to my office bursts open with a bang. The guys barrel in, their faces tense with concern and determination, scaring me so much that I jump out of my chair.
I barely have time to register what happens before I’m enveloped in a group hug, their arms wrapping around me tightly, almost squeezing the breath out of me.
“We’ll figure this out,” Grey says, words muffled against my hair.
“Don’t freak out,” Misha adds, squeezing me a bit tighter.
Oliver chimes in, his voice soft but steady, “At least we have a new clue.”
Their words are meant to be reassuring, but they only serve to heighten my concern.
“What are you even talking about?” I pull back from their embrace, and my brow furrows as I look at each of them in turn.
“She hasn’t heard yet,” Misha mutters, glancing at Grey.
“Hasn’t heard what?” I ask, pulse quickening.
In response, they simultaneously pull out their phones, holding them up for me to see. All three screens display the same headline.
Tech World in Uproar: Elysium Unveils Revolutionary AR Technology, Launch Date Coming Soon
My eyes widen as I realize what I’m looking at.
