Novel-novel oleh Aleyah Lavelle

I stared at Nathan’s text again. Those four words made it impossible for me to sleep, so I called him. Ignoring it would only make things worse and I was tired of that.He picked up immediately. “Elena.”His voice was calmer than I expected.“Hey,” I said, trying to sound calm. “You wanted to talk?”“Not over the phone.” He stayed quiet for a bit. “Can you come over?”I closed my eyes. “Now?”“Yeah. Now.”Twenty minutes later, I was standing outside Nathan’s door, bracing myself for whatever conversation we were about to have. He opened the door just as I moved to knock.“Come in,” he said quietly.I followed him to the living room. He didn’t kiss me hello or try to hug me. Didn’t even offer me a drink. Just sat on the couch and stared at me for the longest time without saying a word.“I saw you with him tonight,” Nathan said. “Outside the library. Again.”I opened my mouth to explain, but I couldn’t say a word. Because what was I supposed to say? That Enzo wasn’t stalking me, he ju

It’s been a full week now since I finally accepted my fate regarding the car. The shiny, stupid car.I stood at the window staring at it, looking at the way sunlight made it look even more expensive.“You’re only here because my husband is insane.”Then I groaned at myself. Husband? Really?Great, there goes my blood pressure.But I had no other option, either use it or walk. And I wasn’t walking, not after the week I’ve had.So I grabbed my bag and headed out, sliding into the driver’s seat. There was no point denying how much I liked the car, just not the person who bought it. I cannot believe I’m driving around in something he bought. Huh!By the time I pulled up to the library, Judy was already outside with her iced coffee, waiting for me like a paparazzi.“Well, well, well,” she said, walking toward me. “Look who has embraced the luxury life.”I stepped out, locking the car. “Shut up.”Olive joined, raising a brow. “I thought you said you were returning it.”“I tried,” I replied

The day after the party, I tried to pretend everything was normal.Olive, Judy and I decided to grab iced coffee before our shift, and they were already in full gossip mode the minute I sat down.Judy sipped her drink, clasping her hands like she was about to deliver an important news.“So,” she began dramatically, “are we going to talk about how your eyes were following Enzo yesterday? Or should we pretend we didn’t all see it?”I blinked. “My what was doing what?”Olive almost choked on her drink laughing.“Oh, please. You looked at him like you suddenly just realized how attractive he is.”“I wasn’t looking at him,” I said, straight faced. “At all.”Judy gave me a slow, knowing nod, the kind that meant she didn’t believe a word I said.“Sweetheart,” she said, “you looked like you were in love.”I almost choked on my drink.“I… what? No. Absolutely not.”Olive leaned closer. “Was Nathan weird about Enzo being there?”“No,” I said quickly. “Not at all. He was perfectly fine.”“Were y

By the next morning, I had made exactly one decision,I was getting my old car back.It didn’t matter how shiny or expensive that blue Lexus was. I wasn’t going to let Enzo bulldoze his way into my life with gifts I never asked for. Especially gifts that would only complicate things with Nathan.I stared at the Lexus key on my table.“Fine,” I muttered. “Let’s do this.”I grabbed my bag, the keys, went to the car and drove straight to Enzo’s house.The drive was annoyingly pleasant. Smooth. The AC was perfect. The brakes were perfect and the whole thing moved like butter.I wanted to throw the entire vehicle into a river.When I pulled up in front of his house, I didn’t even bother getting out of the car. I dialed his number.He answered on the first ring.“You could’ve just rung the bell,” he said, clearly amused. “Or used the door code. Unless you forgot your own birthday?”“Come outside,” I snapped.He exhaled long and loud, that one that meant he was about to be a menace.Then the

The next morning, I woke up feeling…okay-ish. Not happy or even peaceful, just functional. And honestly, with all the chaos Enzo was causing in my life, that felt like a miracle.I brushed my teeth, packed my hair into a ponytail, stepped outside to grab the mail…And froze.Because sitting in my driveway, shining, was a brand new blue Lexus with a giant pink bow on the hood. And a guy that looked as if he was about to knock on my door. So at least, I knew the car didn’t just magically appear in my driveway.Another delivery guy stood beside the car, smiling like he was in a commercial.The guy at the door smiled and said, “Good morning ma’am. Delivery for Elena Wayne.”Wayne? I knew instantly then that it was Enzo’s doing as usual.I narrowed my eyes. “Excuse me?”He held the keys toward me. “Your husband said to give this to you.”I nearly choked on my words.“Husband?” I repeated. “WHAT husband?”He checked the clipboard he had with him. “Uh… Loenzo Wayne.”I exhaled so loudly the

For the next two days, I did the only thing I knew how to do whenever things were out of control.I avoided everyone.I ignored Enzo completely, his calls, his messages, I left it all unread. I didn’t have the strength to deal with whatever version of him would show up on the other side of that conversation.I avoided Nathan too.He called over and over again, his name lighting up my screen like an alarm, but I let it ring until it stopped. When he eventually showed up at my door, knocking hard enough to wake me up, I didn’t let him in.“I need time alone,” I said through the door. “please go home.”Then I ignored him till I couldn’t hear him anymore.I buried myself in work.The library has always been my safe place. I arranged and rearranged books until my arms hurt, read fairytale stories to kids and smiled through it all. The quiet routine helped clear my head.Olive noticed.“You can’t just ignore the problem and hope it disappears,” she said, arms folded. “It won’t, you need to