Semua Bab Obsessed With My Neighbor: Romantic Collection : Bab 41 - Bab 48

The morning light filtered through the curtains in soft stripes, golden and quiet. For the first time in what felt like weeks, the world outside didn’t hum with tension. The air smelled faintly of rain and coffee. Mark was still asleep on the couch when I woke up. His head rested against the armrest, one arm draped carelessly over his chest, the other hanging just low enough for his fingers to brush against the carpet. He looked younger like that — unguarded. Peaceful in a way I hadn’t seen before.I stood there for a moment, watching him breathe, the rise and fall of his chest slow and steady. Then, quietly, I padded into the kitchen. The kettle hissed to life, and I let the sound fill the silence that stretched gently between rooms. The smell of brewing coffee drew him in not long after.“Morning,” he murmured, voice still rough from sleep.“Morning,” I replied, setting a mug on the counter for him.He ran a hand through his hair and gave me a sheepish smile. “I didn’t mean to fall

The week after Anna’s visit had somewhat dissolved into static. I went to bed with my phone glowing beside me, I woke up reaching for it again. It wasn’t even about messages anymore. I just wanted proof that Mark was still out there, that he was still part of the quiet orbit that had begun to rule my days. Every sound in the hallway felt like him. Every silence felt like punishment. At work, I stared through spreadsheets until the numbers bled together. My supervisor asked about a report, and I nodded as if I remembered which one. The moment she walked away, I forgot her question entirely. My attention was a restless creature that kept slipping back to the space next door, to the echo of Anna’s voice asking Is he here?I told myself it was only curiosity, a small bruise that would fade if I left it alone. But by Tuesday I was checking Mark’s profile over breakfast, at lunch and at night before sleeping. It had the same photos, the same familiar smile, yet each time I studied them as i

I lost count of the days after the meeting. They folded into one another like pages that had been left out in the rain. They were soft, colorless and impossible to separate. At first, I told myself I was just catching my breath. I’d make coffee, open my laptop, and promise that tomorrow I’d start looking for work again. But the laptop stayed shut, the coffee went cold, and I kept finding reasons to step outside instead. The air felt easier than my apartment did.Sometimes I’d wander to the corner store. Sometimes I’d walk nowhere in particular, only to realize that my feet had taken me back toward the same block again. It became a pattern I didn’t name, a rhythm my body learned on its own. I’d linger near the building where Mark lived, watching people come and go. I told myself I was just walking. Just stretching my legs. But the longer I stood there, the harder it was to believe that lie.Evenings were worse. The city would settle into its warm, humming quiet, and I’d sit by my windo

The next morning began differently than I expected.I didn’t wake up with heaviness.I didn’t wake up with panic.I didn’t wake up with the quiet, spinning dread that had crouched in the corners of my mind for days.I woke up … slowly.Warm.My cheek was pressed to the pillow instead of the couch. I must’ve dragged myself to bed sometime after the world outside went dark, though I didn’t remember doing it. The sunlight filtering through my curtains painted the room in soft gold, catching the edges of the dresser, glinting off a forgotten glass of water on the nightstand.I lay there for a moment, breathing quietly, listening to the gentle hush of morning. No alarms. No responsibilities tugging at me. No frantic thoughts demanding attention.Just a quiet sense of… okay.I stretched beneath the covers, feeling the slight pleasant ache in my muscles from yesterday’s cleaning spree. A real ache. The kind that had nothing to do with stress.My phone rested beside the lamp, still powered of