All Chapters of One night with my best friend cousin : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

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 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 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 17LinaThe alarm screamed.I groaned and turned over in bed, pulling the blanket over my face like a child who believed that if she could not see the morning, the morning could not see her either. My whole body felt like something heavy was sitting on top of it. My eyes burned. My head felt thick and slow.Slowly, I pushed myself up and sat at the edge of the bed.I stared at the floor for a moment.Another day.Another day of fighting my own heart.I dragged my feet to the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, I almost did not recognise myself. The girl staring back at me looked worn out. Her cheeks were a little hollow. Her eyes had lost their shine. There was no light there anymore l, no warmth, no softness. Just tiredness.I used to glow. People used to tell me that. "Lina, you're always so bright."That brightness was gone now.Weeks had passed since that night. The night my heart cracked open in front of everyone. The night I smiled on the outside while something insid

Chapter 19LinaWith Millie around, there was no way I could focus on work. Thank God Mr. Alexanda still hadn’t returned from his business trip. At least one problem was gone for now.Ever since that night at Mick’s birthday party, Millie hadn’t asked me anything. Not once. She didn’t ask why I ran out crying. She didn’t ask why I suddenly started avoiding Mick. It was strange because Millie was never the type to keep quiet when something was bothering her.Sometimes I caught her staring at me when she thought I wasn’t looking. Like she knew everything already but was waiting for me to speak first.Inside the small coffee shop near my office, soft music played quietly in the background. The smell of coffee filled the air. People chatted around us, cups clinking against plates, but none of it entered my head.My eyes stayed fixed on my iPad.I kept drawing necklace designs over and over, trying to keep my mind busy. If I stopped working even for one second, my thoughts would run straig