تسجيل الدخولCHAPTER 74Spencer’s POVThe room felt impossibly quiet after I stepped back, letting the space between us settle like a weight. My hands still tingled from touching her, the warmth of her body lingering even when she was a few feet away.I watched her—Clara—breathing slightly faster, cheeks flushed, hair falling in soft waves across her face. The way she looked at me, eyes wide and hesitant, made the world shrink until it was just her and me in this living room.And in that silence, something I’d been holding back for too long, something I had carefully locked behind walls of pride and control, started to crack.I swallowed hard. My pulse quickened. Every instinct I had screamed at me to say it, to finally tear down the barrier I’d been keeping between my heart and her.“I—” I began, my voice low, almost strangled.She tilted her head slightly, sensing the weight in my tone.“I can’t hold it back anymore,” I whispered, the words tasting raw on my tongue. “Clara… I love you. I’ve lov
CHAPTER 73Clara’s POVFor a moment after Spencer stepped back, neither of us moved.The distance he had created between us felt deliberate, like a line he was drawing in the room. His expression had gone calm again, but there was something beneath it now, something tighter than before.“Don’t do that again,” he said quietly.“Why?” I asked, folding my arms.“Because you’re confused,” he replied, his voice steady. “And I’m not interested in being part of a test.”Something about the way he said it made irritation flare in my chest again. The calm certainty in his voice felt like he had already figured me out, as he had already decided what this was before I had even finished trying to understand it myself.“You act like you know exactly what I’m thinking,” I said.“I do,” he replied simply.“Oh, really?”“Yes.”I scoffed, but the sound didn’t carry as much confidence as I intended.“And what exactly am I thinking then?”Spencer looked at me for a long moment before answering. His eyes
CHAPTER 72Clara’s POVLin Woo’s words refused to leave my mind.Even the next day, they were still sitting there somewhere in the back of my thoughts, quietly repeating themselves whenever my brain had a moment of silence.You’re in love with Spencer.At first, I dismissed it. Lin Woo had always been observant, sometimes too observant, and it wouldn’t be the first time he read too deeply into something small. But the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable the idea became, because it planted a question I hadn’t asked myself before.And the worst part was that once a question like that existed, it was hard to ignore.I had spent years convincing myself that love wasn’t something I had room for anymore. Not after Derrick. Not after everything that followed. That part of my life had been burned down so completely that I had stopped believing it could grow back.But now Lin Woo had thrown the idea into the air like it was the most obvious thing in the world.So when Spencer walk
CHAPTER 71Clara's POV“Hey… can I ask you one more question, Clara?” he said.His voice carried a hint of hesitation.“Actually… It’s more of an observation.I raised an eyebrow at that, curiosity immediately sparking, but I nodded anyway.“Go ahead.”Lin Woo studied my face for a moment like he was debating whether or not he should actually say what was on his mind. His lips parted slightly before he hesitated again, clearly weighing his words.Then he sighed softly.“You’re in love with Spencer.”The words landed in the room like a stone dropped into still water.For a moment, I didn’t react.I simply stared at him.Then a laugh escaped me, quick and disbelieving, like the idea itself was ridiculous.“What?” I said, shaking my head. “No.”Lin Woo didn’t look convinced.His expression remained calm, but a quiet certainty in his eyes made something uncomfortable twist in my stomach.“You don’t have to deny it,” he said gently.“I’m not denying anything,” I replied quickly, a little t
CHAPTER 70Clara’s POVIt had already been several days since Lin Woo had moved in with me, and I couldn’t deny how comforting it was to have him around. He’d quickly become my center of gravity, the anchor I clung to in the chaos of my life. I still hadn’t told him everything. There were parts of my world he didn’t need to see yet, but I let him in little by little, letting him see glimpses of my struggles while protecting him from the worst of it.Spencer and Esteban were slowly warming up to him, too. Spencer had begun to see Lin Woo as more than just Clara’s new roommate, while Esteban, well, he remained mostly unreadable, but even he seemed to respect him. Maybe even like him. Lin Woo had this effect on people; his kindness made them feel safe, his quiet confidence made them listen.Lin Woo himself was exactly as I remembered him: soft-spoken but sharp, gentle yet quick with a witty remark when he saw something wrong. He had this combination of gentleness and fire that made peop
CHAPTER 69Florida’s POVMy eyes widened the moment Derrick’s hand lifted.For a split second, the world felt like it had stopped moving.My heart slammed painfully against my ribs as instinct took over and my eyes squeezed shut, my body bracing for the impact I was sure was about to come.But the seconds passed.One.Two.Three.Nothing happened.No pain.No sound.No impact.Slowly, hesitantly, I opened my eyes.Derrick was still standing in front of me, but the anger on his face had changed into something else entirely. His eyes were wide now, fixed on his own hand like he couldn’t believe it had been raised in the first place.Like he couldn’t believe what he had almost done.For a moment, neither of us moved.Then his hand dropped back down suddenly with a sharp motion, like he was forcing it away from me.He let out a frustrated grunt under his breath before dragging a hand through his hair.“Don’t push me, Florida,” he said tightly.His voice sounded strained, almost like he wa







