It All Started With That Smile Novels & Stories

--- After class, I went with Lily and the others. We sat in a small café. It was warm inside. The smell of coffee filled the air. People were laughing. Talking. Sharing stories. At first, I just listened. But slowly… I started to talk too. Small things. Simple things. And I found myself smiling. A real smile. For the first time in days. “You should smile more,” Lily said. “You look different.” “Different how?” I asked. “Lighter,” she said. I paused. Lighter.

A pair of girls walked past us. One of them glanced at me. Then smiled. Actually smiled. Not fake. Not mocking. Just… smiled. I blinked in surprise. She kept walking. “What was that?” I asked. Lila looked over her shoulder. “What?” “That girl.” “What about her?” “She smiled at me.” Lila shrugged. “Maybe she was being nice.” I frowned. “People don’t just decide to be nice.” “They do.” “Since when?” “Since the captain of the football team publicly embarrassed every jerk who’s ever picked on you.”

– my smile fell, I was being rejected. That little pepper started to smile at my sadness. I was turned towards her and with my head down. She came closer and lifted her body a little to speak in my ear, letting that cleavage practically rub against my face. My cock twitched inside my pants, I wanted to grab those wonderful breasts.

Jack’s breath froze in his chest. Jack despised it when women were told to ‘smile more.’ And he hated the phrase, ‘You’d be so much prettier if you’d just smile.’ His sisters had been on the end of one or both of those awful lines at one time or another. He shared their hatred of it. So when Dianna smiled at him, he knew it didn’t make her more beautiful—she was already beautiful, even if he’d had a tough time admitting it to himself—no, when she smiled at Jack like that, with genuine warmth and affection, it broke down part of the wall of ice he’d contracted around his damaged heart.

With that, I hung up and blocked his number without hesitation. Liam must have sensed the tension in the car because he smiled and tried to lighten the mood. “Miss Griffin, you came here to start a new life. Don’t let stuff like that ruin it. We’ll be at your apartment soon. You’re going to love it.” I turned my eyes to the sky. The clouds at the horizon were painted gold by the setting sun, and for the first time in years, I felt a weight lifting off my shoulders. I nodded lightly. “You’re right. I’m looking forward to my new beginning.”

At least not now. And if anyone was to ever ask me, I believe I am perfect. But my smile... It bothers me. It is a replica of my father's smile. And everything about him I find at fault... Especially when it is found in me. The silence that had befallen us made me feel non-existent ants crawling up my body. So, I took steps forward, ready to escape the room but my arm got held back. "When I look at your smile, I don't see a donkey's smile. And trust me, I love looking at donkeys smiles. Like the one in the movie Shrek... What is its name again?"

It is a smile, small, gummy, and perfect. I freeze, and then I start crying again. "You smiled," I whisper, laughing through tears. "You actually smiled at me." He kicks one little foot and does it again, and that day, nothing else matters, not the dishes, not the bills, and not the missing part of my life. My son smiled at me, and for a few minutes, the whole world felt bearable.

Why is he smiling? I felt my cheeks heating up just by watching his smile. It was just a harmless meaningless smile, but the effect of that simple smile made me flush. His smile was exactly like Zayne, only that he didn't have the innocent, gentleness that Zayne had. He had this mischievous sort of glow to it, but I could tell it was natural. The smile made him look so damn hot.

He gave each one the specific honesty of a man who had been carrying them privately for a long time and was setting them down for the first time in the room where they had always belonged. He talked about the smile. He said it had started after Sophie and he had not decided to start it. It had arrived as the thing that the situation required and he had found it useful and had continued using it and over time it had become so habitual that he had stopped being aware of when he was deploying it and when it was simply there. He said the smile had cost him more than Sophie had. I sat across from him and listened to all of it. He talked about Maria.

🖱️Sammy🖱️ I did not even realize I was smiling until my face started hurting. It was the stupid kind of smile. The kind that sits on your lips without asking permission. The kind that makes people look at you like you have lost your mind. I was standing by the window, staring at absolutely nothing, replaying moments that were not even that dramatic but somehow meant everything to me. “Looking at you smiling like a fool, it is obvious you found your mate, and do not you dare lie to me.”