Chapter 8
“Adrian, I love you.”
Looking at Seraphina’s flushed face, Adrian stood frozen, not knowing how to respond.
“Get together!”
“Professor Montgomery, say yes to Seraphina!”
The other people in the lab kept cheering, but Adrian still didn’t speak.
Seraphina’s eyes gradually reddened, tears beginning to glisten.
“Seraphina, let’s talk outside,” Adrian said.
Seraphina looked at him but stubbornly asked again: “Adrian, I love you. Will you be with me?”
All their recent interactions flashed through Adrian’s mind, along with the sudden increase in research funding and opportunities for department chair election.
Adrian knew these were all because of Seraphina.
“Okay.”
After a long pause, Adrian finally croaked out his agreement.
“Congrats Professor Montgomery and Seraphina!”
“Kiss! Kiss!”
Amid the cheering, Seraphina stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips.
The moment her cool, soft lips touched his, Adrian’s mind suddenly flashed to Violet.
When his acceptance letter came, he and Violet had kissed in that cramped, stuffy studio apartment–a shy, innocent first kiss.
Adrian could still remember every expression on Violet’s face that day.
An uncomfortable feeling rose in his chest, his thoughts drifting away.
“Adrian, tonight let’s have dinner with my dad and tell him we’re together, okay?”
Adrian turned to see Seraphina looking at him.
Her face was flushed–whether from shyness or the lab’s heating, he couldn’t tell.
But strangely, Adrian felt hollow inside, like something was missing.
He seemed to hear a voice telling him; No, it’s not her.
After a brief moment of confusion, he found his bearings again, his lips curving into a doting smile: “Sure.”
On the way to dinner, Adrian pulled out his phone to text Violet:
[Working late at the lab tonight. Remember to eat dinner–I’ll call you later.]
He stared at his phone, but as minutes ticked by, there was still no reply from Violet.
Chapter 8
She usually responded to his messages immediately, but now the screen showed only his sent message.
Unease crept into Adrian’s heart as he wanted to call and ask what was wrong, but Seraphina interrupted.
“There’s a mall over there with this Earl Grey tea my dad absolutely loves. Let’s grab some.”
Adrian put his phone away, pushing down his strange feelings.
Maybe she was just busy with something, or maybe the train had bad signal.
After ten years together, what could go wrong?
With that thought, Adrian put his arm around Seraphina’s shoulder: “Let’s get your mom a bracelet too.”
At dinner, both Mr. and Mrs. Vale were very pleased with Adrian.
“Adrian, the university’s getting additional funding next month. Submit your materials and I’ll allocate some to your lab.”
“When are you and our Seraphina having the engagement party? The department chair election is next year–I have high hopes for you.”
Hearing Mr. Vale’s words, Adrian couldn’t hide his joy.
“Thank you, sir. For the engagement, I’ll go with whatever makes Seraphina happy.”
The dinner was a complete success. Adrian had a few extra drinks and was getting tipsy.
Seraphina helped him to the car, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and whispering in his ear:
“Adrian, as long as you’re with me, I can give you everything.”
She didn’t take Adrian home–instead, she brought him to her place.
Her slender waist was in his arms, the heat on Seraphina’s cheeks lingering as she pressed her hands against his chest, not letting him get any closer, pouting playfully:
“Adrian, do you love me?”
Unfortunately, her resistance was futile against him. Those calloused hands moved up to cup the back of her neck as he leaned down to kiss her.
“Love you.” The touch made his voice husky. “Of course I love you.”
Adrian was drunk, but not completely unconscious. he just let himself sink into the alcohol. After all, getting to this position hadn’t been easy
for him.
Violet–he’d make it up to her properly.
Heat filled the air, their body temperatures rising together. All words were swallowed, leaving only broken whimpers.
Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains onto the bed. Seraphina woke to find herself alone.
Her phone was empty too–no messages. This made Seraphina suddenly anxious.
If Adrian had something urgent he couldn’t get away from, he’d usually send someone to let her know, not leave her with nothing like this.
But the anxiety quickly faded.
What could possibly be wrong?
Her biggest obstacle was Violet, and Violet was already gone.
Now Violet couldn’t even compare to a strand of her hair in Adrian’s heart.
Chapter 8
With that thought, she leisurely got up to get ready for school.
