LOGINChapter 15LinaMy ears would not stop ringing.I stood there and told myself I had heard wrong.Marriage? Mick?No. That was not possible. That could not be right.The room felt like it was getting smaller. Like the walls were moving closer, slowly, quietly, squeezing all the air out. Everyone around me was still smiling, still clapping, but I was standing completely still. Like my feet had grown into the floor.My eyes moved slowly.From Mick, To Millie, To Mr. Waterz.I waited.I waited for someone to laugh and say it was a joke. A birthday prank. Something funny that everyone planned together.I waited for Millie to nudge me and whisper, relax, it's not real.I waited for Mick to shake his head, pull away from that woman, and walk toward me the way he always did.Nobody moved,Nobody laughed.Nobody said a word.Millie's fingers found my hand in the crowd. She wrapped them around mine and held tight, the way you hold someone when you are afraid they might fall.I looked at Mick.His j
Chapter 14Lina"Lina!!"Something soft pressed against my shoulder.I did not want to wake up.My eyes opened slowly, like they were too heavy to lift. The morning light was already pushing through the curtains, bright and sharp, stabbing straight into my face. I squeezed my eyes shut again and turned away from it."What is it?" My voice came out rough and dry."It's time to get up," Millie said.I heard her voice close to the bed. Too close.I lay still for one more second.Then it hit me.What time is it? My eyes flew open.The whole night, I had not slept properly. I had stared at the ceiling for hours, with Millie's voice going round and round inside my head like a song that would not stop.Every time I closed my eyes, I heard it again. Every time the room went quiet, it came back louder. I had kept turning on the bed, pulling the blanket up, pushing it down, turning to my side, turning to my back, until sleep finally pulled me under just minutes ago.And now it was already mornin
Chapter 13LinaI didn't want Mick to leave.The moment the door closed behind him, the whole room went quiet. But my heart, my heart was still full of him. Still warm. Still beating fast with his name.I stood there without moving. Staring at the door. Waiting for something I knew wouldn't happen. Waiting for him to open it again. To walk back in. To smile at me the way he had smiled at me just a few minutes ago.But the door stayed closed.My chest tightened.Every part of me wanted to run to him. To pull the door open. To call his name into the hallway. To throw my arms around him and hold on and never let go.But I couldn't.So I stayed still. Breathing slowly. Letting the silence settle around me like dust.Finally, I walked back to the couch and dropped onto it. My body sank into the soft cushion. I lay there looking up at the white ceiling, but all I could see was Mick's face. His eyes. His quiet smile. The way his hand touched my cheek so gently, like I was made of something h
Chapter 12Mick's POVOn our way back from the meeting, I sat quietly in the car, staring out the window.The city outside was moving fast. Cars. People. Buildings passing by.But my mind felt stuck.Completely stuck.I kept telling myself the same thing, over and over, like a rule I was trying to force myself to follow.Ignore Lina.It sounded simple inside my head. Clean. Easy. Like something I could just decide and it would be done.But deep down… I already knew the truth.It wouldn't be easy.Maybe it was even impossible.I ran my hand slowly through my hair and leaned back in my seat. My dad was right beside me, busy on his phone, voice low and calm, talking about business like it was the only thing in the world that mattered.Like my life wasn't being quietly arranged without my permission.Like I wasn't sitting right there, suffocating.My jaw tightened.I looked back out the window.This is the only way out… right?If I stayed away from Lina, maybe she wouldn't get hurt. Maybe I
Chapter 11Lina's POVSitting in front of my desk at work, I knew I should be focusing.But I wasn't.My laptop screen was open. Files were there. Work was waiting. Everything was right in front of me.Still… my mind was somewhere else.Mick.Is he okay?The question kept coming back. Again and again. Like someone knocking on a door inside my head and refusing to stop.I didn't sleep well last night. Not even a little. I kept turning in bed, staring at the ceiling, watching the dark. Every time I closed my eyes, the same thought came back.Is he okay?My eyes felt heavy now. My body felt weak. Even my reflection on the black screen of my phone looked different…pale, tired, and worried. Like a version of me I didn't recognize.I leaned back slightly in my chair and stared at my phone lying quietly beside my hand.Should I call him?Should I just ask?Or… should I wait?My fingers moved slightly toward the phone. Then stopped.What if he doesn't want to talk?What if I'm just overthinking
Chapter 10MickSitting in front of my dad's business partner, Mr. Smith, felt like the longest moment of my life.I was there. Physically.But my mind?Far away.Far from this table. Far from this conversation. Far from everything happening in front of me.My dad was talking. Of course he was.His voice was steady and confident, the way it always gets when business is involved. Like he was selling something. Like he was always selling something."She's a wonderful girl," he said, smiling. "Well-raised, educated, and from a good family. Mick is ready. He understands responsibility."I clenched my jaw.Ready.Is that what he really thinks? Or is that just what he wants them to believe?I sat still, my hands resting quietly on my lap, my fingers slowly tightening without me noticing. I wasn't looking at either of them. I was just… existing in the chair. Going through the motions. Nodding at the right moments. Breathing.Mr. Smith kept nodding, satisfied, like every word my dad said was music t







