Chapter 124
Winter clothes were thick, but Valeria could clearly feel it. That subtle friction was like a current of electricity, spreading slowly through her nerves.
She tensed.
Lifting her head, she looked at Sebastian sitting across from her.
The man’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. His brows and eyes were cold and distant. He took a sip of the sauce and even frowned slightly. His face was as still as a lake, without the slightest ripple.
No one would have guessed what he was doing under the table, so brazenly restless.
Valeria shifted her chair, trying to move back a little. But the little shop was cramped. She managed to move just a bit before bumping into the customer eating behind her.
In the end, Valeria had no choice but to give up.
Under the table, the man’s foot remained unruly. His black leather shoe brushed against her leg every now and then, faintly, almost imperceptibly.
Valeria frowned.
Rory looked at her and said, “You were probably scared by what happened today, huh? But the elevators in our building get maintenance all the time. I’ve worked at Golden Lux for four years. This is the first time I’ve heard of it getting stuck.”
She smiled. “Then, I guess I was just unlucky today. Thankfully, the repairman got there quickly.”
It just happened to be right when school was letting out.
Valeria wasn’t afraid of getting stuck in the elevator. What she feared was not being able to
find Selena.
The two little girls didn’t eat much. After a few bites, they started whispering to each other.
“I have to pick my daughter up from school every day, too. If you’re ever busy, I can help you out. I live nearby. I’m just two streets away on Silkway Drive.”
Valeria, of course, wouldn’t trouble Rory. She was about to politely decline.
Under the table, the man stretched out his leg, bluntly blocking hers.
Valeria shot him a glare. How were his legs this long?
Smiling, she told Rory that it wasn’t necessary.
Chapter 124
Then, unable to hold back anymore, she sent Sebastian a message on WhatsApp. “Are you sick?
11
“Ms. Neal, you seem awfully interested in my personal affairs. I’m afraid I have nothing to
share.”
He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, looking at the woman across from him. After she glared at him for a second, she immediately changed her expression, smiling as she chatted with Rory.
But as she typed on her phone, there was a certain gritted–teeth frustration on her face.
It was the first time Sebastian had seen so many emotions on Valeria’s calm, gentle face.
He smirked. He curled his fingers slightly, tapping rhythmically on the table, lightly and deliberately. He was amused.
Somehow, his mood had lifted.
After work tonight, he didn’t want to go home. He wanted to find somewhere to eat.
He didn’t know where to go, so he drove around the streets for an hour.
Slate City shimmered with life at night. There were food stalls steaming in the dark, neon–lit shopping streets, and a brilliant central avenue. Yet, as if led by something unseen, he ended up here.
This place was full of warmth and life. Beatrice even recognized him and remembered his
usual order.
Valeria’s apartment was just across the street from here. Through the worn, old aluminum window, one could even see the neighborhood across the road, with cars and people coming and going.
He was planning to eat and leave.
But before he could finish his meal, he saw Valeria walk in together with the man she had been chatting with at the bus stop the other day.
She was smiling so gently, especially when she looked down. A faint smile played on her cheeks, lips tinted soft pink, her face delicate as spring blossoms.
Things seemed to be escalating quickly. It had barely been a few days since they met at the bus stop, and now they were already having dinner together.
He lifted his foot, nudging the woman’s calf with the tip of his shoe. He watched with satisfaction as she tightened her grip on her spoon, lips pressed together, tensed and afraid of being noticed.
Chapter 124
She wanted to avoid making a scene.
Under the table, the toe of his shoe grew increasingly bold as it wandered along her calf.
