Chapter 11
I tried to focus on the report on my screen, but the words blurred into each other like watercolors bleeding through wet paper. It was the third time I reread the same paragraph, and still, nothing was sinking in.
Rozen. He kept slipping into my thoughts like sunlight through a cracked window- uninvited, quiet, but impossible to ignore.
The way he leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed when he was tired. The subtle rasp in his voice when he called my name. Why did I remember these things? Why did they
matter?
I clicked my pen open and closed for the tenth time, drumming my fingers against the desk. Maybe I was just tired. Or maybe-
“You’ve been staring at that screen like it owes you money,” Alice said from the doorway, sipping on her overpriced matcha.
I blinked. “Huh?”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine. Just… need a breather.” I leaned back in my chair, rubbing the space between my brows. “I think I need fresh air or something.”
“Go,” Alice said immediately, waving her hand. “I’ve got the reports for now. Clear your
head.”
I gave her a grateful smile and stood. “You’re the best.”
“I know.”
The park wasn’t crowded. The spring breeze was soft, rustling through the trees and making the leaves whisper secrets. I didn’t take my phone. I didn’t want the world. Just… quiet. Each step on the paved trail felt lighter, like the tension in my shoulders was finally unwinding.
I sat on a bench under a tree. The sun filtered through the branches in slivers of gold, warming my skin. I closed my eyes.
And of course, he was there again. Rozen, with his stiff suits and soft eyes. Rozen, with his maddening silence and unexpected care.
I remembered the time he handed me an umbrella in the middle of a downpour–no words, just held it out as if he’d been watching the whole time. I remembered his fingers brushing mine as he passed me the remote during one of our silent nights. Neither of us said a word, but I felt it. That tension. That something.
I remembered waking up once on the couch after a long day, covered with a blanket I hadn’t put on myself.
It was him. It had always been him. And maybe, just maybe–I was falling.
Damn it. I didn’t want to. I wasn’t supposed to. That wasn’t part of the plan. This was supposed to be clean, detached, no strings.
But there I was, sitting under a tree like a lovesick fool, thinking about the man who never
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truly let me into his heart.
I didn’t even realize how much time passed until the sky began to dim and the breeze turned cooler. I reached into my bag out of instinct–for my phone,
Nothing.
Panic flared for a second before I remembered–I had left it in the office,
Great.
When I returned to the office, slightly breathless from the walk, the last thing I expected to see was him standing in the lobby.
Rozen. He looked like a storm barely contained in a suit. His tie was loose, his hair slightly disheveled, and his jaw clenched.
Our eyes met.
He marched toward me.
“Where the hell have you been?”
I froze. “What-”
“Why weren’t you answering your phone?”
My throat dried. “I… I left it. At the office.”
He exhaled sharply. “You left it? Without telling anyone where you went?”
“I just needed some air. I wasn’t expecting to be gone that long.”
“You could’ve said something.”
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
He took a step closer, his voice low but seething. “You made me fucking worried.”
I blinked.
His eyes weren’t angry. Not really. They were scared. Wide. Tired.
“Rozen…”
He looked away, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, and before I could say anything else, he turned and walked straight out the door.
I stood there, stunned. What… just happened?
“Uh, should I knock?” Alice said, stepping into my office behind me.
I turned slowly. “You saw that?”
“Oh yeah.” She grinned, walking over and setting a folder on my desk. “He came here earlier. Said he wanted to surprise you. Brought coffee and everything.”
“What?”
“Yeah. You weren’t here. Your phone was still on your desk, your bag half–open. He thought something happened. Nearly hired a search party.”
I sank into my chair, speechless.
Alice chuckled softly “larming if you still think that man’s not in love with you woll-”
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“Yeah. You weren’t here. Your phone was still on your desk, your bag half–open. He thought something happened. Nearly hired a search party.”
I sank into my chair, speechless.
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Alice chuckled softly. “Jasmine… if you still think that man’s not in love with you, well-” She gestured dramatically. “I’m not buying it. Not anymore.”
I opened my mouth to respond. Nothing came out.
Was he?
Was Rozen in love with me?
The same man who carried silence like armor? Who refused to speak about the past, about her–the woman in the painting?
But today… today he looked at me like I was the only one in the room.
And maybe, for a fleeting second, I let myself wonder.
What if?
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Chapter 12
