Chapter 54, Unmasking My Feelings, Part 2.

I sat by the pool, the sun warm on my skin, the book in my hands a mere distraction from the tension that had settled between Rami and me.

It's been two days since we’d last spoken, and the silence felt heavier than the humid air around me. I tried to focus on the words on the page, but my mind kept drifting, replaying the argument, the hurt, the way he’d looked at me when I walked away.

The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts. I didn’t need to look up to know it was him. His presence was unmistakable, even in the quiet. He stopped a few feet away, and I could feel his eyes on me.

“What are you doing?” he finally asked, his voice soft, cautious.

I kept my eyes on the book, though I hadn’t read a word in the last five minutes. “Just reading,” I replied, my tone flat, distant. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much his silence had bothered me.

There was a pause, and I could hear him shift his weight, unsure of what to say next. “It’s so hot today,”