A Yearning Beyond Years のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

Stacey's POV:My heart raced a thousand miles per minute as I took one step after the other, stepping into the hospital. All eyes turned towards me.Okay, I needed to calm down.But I couldn’t. I would’ve been caught, and that too by Sophia’s friends, of all people. I couldn’t let this news get to Sophia at any cost.I took a deep breath and continued walking into the hospital with a fake smile glued on my face. Suddenly my phone rang out loud, and panicking, I brought it out, almost fumbling it.Damn it! Panic does not work well with me.Deep breath, deep breath. The tiny voice in my head repeated like a broken record.I looked down to see Liam’s name on the screen. Not answering him should obviously give him the message that I don’t want to talk to him!He just can't be patient! I ended the call, and barely three steps forward, my phone rang again. This time it was Michael.I froze in place. If my heart wasn’t already flying out of my body, then now it was. My brain seemed to have

Stacey's POV:"I want to make this official." The pleading look in his eyes made my heart soften. I wanted that too, more than anything, but…Quit thinking about what people think and just do it!I took a deep breath. "Alright. It's official then." He threw his arm over me and went on a rampage, kissing every open spot on my face. A laugh escaped my lips. He stopped and looked at me, his voice turning a bit serious now. "I want you there when my parents begin to bombard me with questions as to where I've been." His eyes remained fixed on me, unweaving.He was really serious about this.I shook my head. "Noah, you can't be serious. I'm your professor. Regardless of the fact that we are now official, we can't just go parading around. At least not yet. It might put everything at risk."I pulled my hand away from him, and I saw the pain cross his features. Still I head firm. I couldn’t meet his parents now. It was too early. It wasn't like I didn't want to show off our love, but there

Noah’s POV:This wasn’t how I envisioned this to be, but here I was, lying on the couch, trying to dial the same number for the past three days, and there was no answer, absolutely no way to reach her.Was it so bad that I wanted her close? Did I want her in my arms like any other man would want his woman?A laugh escaped me, sounding so bitter I couldn’t even believe it was mine. Here I was, sitting on the couch, trying to watch TV because I couldn’t go to practice because I decided to save a woman who doesn’t seem to like the idea that we’re different ages.She thought I didn’t know.It had always been written all over her face. She still thinks about her ex-husband, and she still doubts our love could hold strong when faced in public, but still I never pulled back. I still craved her like a drug addict unable to quit a drug. I still wanted her. Hell, I never wanted just sex to begin with. But here I was, dating a woman I’ve loved since the first day of college, but…You doubt she

Noah’s POV:Sophie didn’t speak right away.She just stood there, eyes wide, mouth parted slightly, like my confession had knocked the breath out of her lungs. As if somewhere in her twisted, deluded world, she hadn’t actually expected me to say it out loud.But I had.Clear as day.“Yes,” I had said, looking her dead in the eye. I loved Stacey. No excuses. No hesitation.The silence between us buzzed.Then something shifted in her face. The disbelief melted away, and in its place, something darker bloomed. Her mouth closed. Her jaw tensed. And her fingers, those perfectly manicured claws, curled into trembling fists.“I will have you, Noah,” she whispered, her voice low and eerie, like a curse spoken through clenched teeth. “Even if it takes me destroying every woman in your life.”Her eyes burned like embers. “I’ll make you love me.”And then, she turned on her heel and walked out.She didn’t slam the door. Didn’t scream. She just walked out as if she had left behind a bomb and was

Stacey’s POV:The clock on Noah’s wall ticked louder than usual as the sun began to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows across his room. I was lying in his arms on the couch, tucked into his warmth, wrapped in that familiar scent of his skin, spiced cologne, and something uniquely him.But the peace was running out. His parents would be home soon.I sighed and sat up, brushing my fingers through my hair and smoothing the wrinkles in my blouse. “I should go.”Noah’s hand slid around my waist, pulling me back gently. “Not yet.”“We said we’d be careful, remember?” I glanced at the door, heart skipping. “They could walk in any minute.”“I know,” he murmured. “But I don’t want you to go.”His voice had that soft huskiness I’d come to love, the kind he only used when the rest of the world was shut out. He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his gaze lingering.“I love you,” he said.My breath caught.Three words. Three small words, but the weight of them hit