Semua Bab Tempting My Ex’s Brother : Bab 51 - Bab 55

“When did all of this start?”“High school.”“High school?” I frowned in disbelief. “We didn’t even meet until I was already in college. It was when I moved here and found out you were my neighbor. What you’re saying doesn’t make sense. I didn’t even know you existed back then.”“It does.” His gaze remained fixed on me. “I’ve had my eye on you for a long time now. My younger brother went to the same school as you, and every time we’d drive there to pick him up, I’d always catch a glimpse of you from a distance. Standing in front of your school gate. Do you remember all the gifts you used to receive from anonymous senders?”I stared at him as memories from years ago slowly resurfaced. After a moment, I gave a small nod. Of course I remembered them. I’m a very sentimental person, and even after all these years, I still have every single one of those gifts.“They were all from me. I could never bring myself to approach you and hand them to you personally, so I asked someone else to do it

“Stop staring and talk,” I said after a couple of minutes had already passed since we settled into our seats, yet he still hadn’t said a word. He just kept staring at me. “How are you?” “What do you mean?” I watched him rub his palms together restlessly, his thighs slightly trembling. For the first time, I saw him visibly nervous, repeatedly letting out quiet sighs as though he were struggling to find the right words. “I gave you time to process everything. Were those days enough?” he asked, his voice almost pleading. “Can we talk about us now?” When he lifted his head to meet my gaze, I wanted to look away. Damn those tender, pleading eyes of his. How dare he look at me like that? After discovering his darkest, deepest secret, I started noticing how he was slowly tearing down the walls he’d built around himself, revealing the real man behind the aloof Xerces I had always known. And every time he showed me this side of himself, he never failed to catch me off guard. I didn’t k

“Is this good enough?” I mumbled while staring at myself in the mirror.I’ve been struggling to decide which one to choose for our date. Dating was nothing new to me, but this was the first time I had ever been this restless about it. Even though I knew I would look good in anything, I still wanted to look my best.“Ruelle?” Xerces called from the living room.Hearing his voice only made me panic even more.“Coming!” I shouted.I quickly finalized my look and hurried downstairs so I wouldn’t keep him waiting. My steps gradually slowed as I approached him, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his gaze.“You look good,” I complimented him.“Thanks. You look ethereal,” he said, then shyly looked away.I chuckled at how awkward he looked. Damn. I couldn’t believe he was acting like this. Just look at how quickly things had changed. The same man who used to look at me like I was the most annoying person alive was now standing in my living room, looking like he didn’t know where to put his