Chapter 29.
Armando’s expression turned awkward.
He thought, “Has she found out that I have just been with Juliette?
“But our spot is so hidden.
“And Jovana, who was afraid of the dark and ghosts, would never sneak off on her own.”
Relieved by this thought, Armando let out a small breath.
He gripped her shoulder and leaned down slightly to meet her gaze. The concern in his eyes felt genuine, not a trace of pretense. Armando said, “You should have told me. I couldn’t find you and thought something had happened to you…”
Jovana stared at him, but still, she couldn’t see a single crack in his facade.
Lying came so easily to him.
His promises to be honest and open with her had all turned out to be lies.
“Vana, your ankle’s hurt.”
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Armando noticed the swelling on her ankle, his face tightening with concern. He gently scooped her up, carrying her in his arms as he walked towards a nearby wooden bench.
“It’s my fault. I should have stayed with you…” he muttered, his voice laden with guilt.
He gently held her swollen ankle, carefully peeling off her sock to inspect the injury, his touch light and tender.
Jovana watched, a faint redness creeping into the corners of her eyes.
She suddenly remembered a time during a sports event when she sprained her ankle. It wasn’t that serious, but Armando, usually so calm and composed, had been so heartbroken that he cried, never leaving her side as he took care of her.
Back then, she had fallen for him all over again.
But just recently, in the haunted house, when Juliette complained of a sore ankle, he had abandoned Jovana, who was just as afraid of the dark, and hurriedly left to care for Juliette instead.
“Don’t cry,” Armando said, noticing the tears brimming in her eyes. His heart ached for her.“I’ll go get some special medication. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”
He left, looking over his shoulder at her repeatedly, worry written all over his face.
But Jovana couldn’t help but feel a sense of distance.
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She wondered, “How much of what he said and did was truly sincere, and how much was just a lie?”
At that moment, her phone vibrated.
She thought it was a message from Armando and took it out to check.
Jovana, wanna bet? Do you think Armando will come find you, or stay with me?”
It was Juliette.
Jovana’s hand tightened around the phone.
She closed her eyes, not replying, and turned off the screen.
She waited, holding on to that faint, glimmering hope.
But Armando still hadn’t returned.
The distance wasn’t long, and he should have been back by now.
Her face turned pale.
Just then, her phone buzzed again with a new notification. It was a photo.
In the picture, Armando was kneeling down, applying medication to Juliette’s ankle. That was just a scrape, yet he was so concerned. But when
it came to Jovana’s swollen ankle, he had left her behind.
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Jovana kept sending her messages, ‘Jovana, you lost the bet.”
‘Armando’s really good at taking care of others. Thank you for teaching him this.”
Jovana’s eyes welled up as she stared at the message.
Her gaze dropped to her swollen ankle, and a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
“Miss, this is for you.”
A sweet, innocent voice broke through her thoughts.
Jovana snapped back to reality, hastily wiping away the tears on her face. She looked up and froze.
The little girl standing in front of her was smiling, holding out a coat.“The weather’s a little chilly. A young man asked me to give this to you so you don’t catch a cold.”
Jovana blinked, still dazed, and tried to ask something, but the little girl had already shoved the coat into her hands and scurried away. “Wait!”
Jovana started to get up, intent on chasing her down, but the dull pain in her ankle stopped her. By the time she looked again, the girl was already out of sight.
She sighed, glancing down at the thin coat in her hands.
It was well–made, clearly expensive.
What struck her as odd was how familiar the scent of the coat was.
She thought, “But whose is it?”
She ran through a list of people she knew, but no one came to mind.“Maybe it was from a stranger,” she thought.
She didn’t wear it and folded it neatly instead.
The warmth behind this small gesture lingered in her mind.
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Chapter 30.
