LOGINShane was stunned. "No wonder Emily called Natalie a player at that get-together before my wedding. Turns out she really did mess you up."Austin turned to look at Caleb. His gaze was cold, and his tone was edged with irritation. "Are you proud of yourself?"Caleb shrugged, completely unfazed. "I don't have a thing for Natalie. What's there to be proud of? Hessy is more my type."The moment he said that, Shane looked like he was about to combust. His face darkened with panic and anger, and he pointed at Caleb, looking nervous and upset at the same time. "You… You grew up with Hessy. You guys are like siblings! Why are you suddenly setting your sights on her?""I was just joking." Caleb gave him a lazy, mischievous smile. "Look how anxious you got. Don't worry. I only think of her as a sister. I'm not stealing her from you."Shane heaved a sigh of relief at that. Caleb was the pretty-boy type—clean-cut, handsome, and most importantly, loaded. If he really wanted to steal Hestia, Sh
Feeling awkward, Natalie said, "I told you on WhatsApp not to wait for me. You guys could've started eating first."Hestia tugged her down into the seat. "We're all friends here. I told them we didn't have to wait either, but Austin insisted that we wait until everyone was here for the food to be served."Natalie heard that as soon as she sat down. She tensed up, not sure what to do with herself. She stole another glance at Austin out of the corner of her eye.He was sitting between Caleb and Shane. Between her and him sat Shane and Hestia. It was a small round table, and her seat was directly across from him. All she had to do was lift her head, and she would crash right into his gaze.Ten days had gone by since their unpleasant parting. She'd been having a really hard time; every day had felt miserable. She hadn't even known Austin had been away for work; she'd just spent her time overthinking everything and stewing in her own gloom.Right now, it felt like there was an entire g
After about three days of this, Natalie couldn't take it anymore. She pushed open Austin's bedroom door and stepped inside to take a look.The blanket was neatly folded on the bed. His toiletries were still there, and his clothes hung in the closet, arranged by color and type.His room was just like he was—clean, orderly, warm, and with a faint, pleasant scent in the air.A few more days passed, and Austin still hadn't come home. He had shown up out of nowhere, then disappeared just as suddenly.Natalie felt an empty ache in her chest. Austin didn't belong to her, yet she felt like she'd lost him a second time. It left her absentminded all day and constantly in a slump.When work got busy, she could forget about him for a while. However, once she got off work, the apartment felt icy and stripped of any warmth.The greens Austin had stocked in the fridge had all wilted. Natalie couldn't stand the idea of wasting them, so she took them out and cooked them with instant mac and chees
After she finally stopped crying, Natalie lay limp on the floor. The cold seeped through her clothes and into her bones, slowly pushing away the doom and gloom in her chest.Minute by minute, time slipped by. It took her the whole morning to calm down.She pushed herself up from the floor, grabbed the comforter, and threw it back onto the bed. Then, she ran her fingers through her hair and walked out of the room.When she stepped into the living room, Caleb was still there, sprawled on the couch, completely absorbed in a game on his phone.Natalie stood still, unable to help herself from glancing toward Austin's room, at that firmly closed door.Caleb glanced up at her once, then dropped his gaze back to the screen. His thumbs flew as he drawled, "Don't bother looking. After he came out of your room, he went back to his room, got dressed, and headed out. He completely ignored me when I asked where he was going. He looked like he was in a really bad mood."Natalie trudged over in
Austin said, "I'm serious."A wave of desolation washed over Natalie. She wanted to get back together with him—God knew how much she still loved him—but she didn't deserve to be with him. All she could do was ask helplessly, "You don't hate me anymore?""I do. I've always hated you." Austin's voice carried a pain that was hard to put into words. "That's why I want you back. Come back to my side and pull that hatred out of my heart yourself, bit by bit. Hating someone hurts too much. I don't want to go on like this."Tears instantly filled Natalie's eyes. Due to his pain, her own heart ached so badly she could hardly breathe. For him to hate a woman for five years without ever letting go and never moving on… It had to be such a cruel, grinding kind of torment.However, she really couldn't be with him. She didn't even dare to tell him that she had loved him deeply all this time. She was helpless and in agony, too.She had been trying so, so hard to overturn her father's case, to cle
Amid Austin's confusion, Natalie chided him reproachfully. "You're a grown man now. Don't you know how to protect yourself? Why didn't you put on clothes after you showered? Aren't you afraid someone might get ideas about you if you walk around like that?"Austin's lips quirked up slightly. He stood there without moving, soaking in the warmth of her comforter with its lingering trace of her scent.He said almost lazily, "It's not cold in here, and my clothes are in the room next door. I was just about to go get dressed."Only then did Natalie realize she'd forgotten to bring him any clothes. It was her mistake, but she was still extremely annoyed.The thought of Caleb seeing Austin's body made her uneasy, and her tone grew even sharper. "Then, you could've called out for me. I would've gone to get them for you."Austin took a step closer and tilted his head slightly. His face was so close to touching hers. Natalie swallowed, forcing herself to look calm. She could even feel the he
Feeling diffident, Natalie avoided Austin's eyes, edged closer, then quietly reached up and flipped the valve.Her little maneuver fell completely within Austin's peripheral vision, but he didn't process what was happening. The handheld shower in his hand cut off, and the overhead rain shower blast
Natalie let it go.Back in the day, to break up with Austin, she'd told just as many lies as Caleb was telling now. She knew perfectly well she'd used Caleb to make the breakup happen.To put it bluntly, Caleb and Austin's friendship had only fallen apart because of her. Now that Caleb was throwin
Just then, Natalie pushed open the front door and came in. She changed into house slippers by the shoe cabinet.Austin turned to look at her. Caleb reacted fast, immediately spinning around and sliding the balcony's glass door open. "Natalie, tell Austin the truth. Did we ever sleep together?"Nat
To Austin, the "truth" was insanely tempting. In the end, he relented and let Caleb into the apartment.Caleb wandered around, checking out the apartment Austin and Natalie shared. It was clean, cozy, bright, and spacious. He couldn't help feeling a stab of envy.Austin leaned against the wall wit







