Michelle was shocked. Did Luke like her? She didn't understand what was going on in his head. And she couldn't ask him either.
Luke drove the car faster in his anger and disappointment. He regretted telling Michelle that. He shouldn't have.
When they reached home, he parked the car in the garage. When he was about to get off, Michelle said, "Luke, forget what just happened. You don't have to force yourself to make any change in our life. If it's forcibly done, it won't last. I won't beg for your love. Just be yourself and don't take my complaint to heart. We're good now, right?"
"Yeah, as you wish," Luke said through clenched teeth and slammed the car door. He had finally managed to make up his mind, and now, Michelle was asking him to give up instead.
Luke walked away from the car, without bothering to wait for her. She looked at his straight back and thought, 'This is for the best'. Michelle didn't want to force Luke to do something that he didn't want. She loved him, so she was willing to give up her dignity and cater to him. She would have left long ago if she didn't love him so much.
The relationship between the two didn't change after their first kiss. However, Luke's eyes often wandered and settled down on her sadly.
He thought that he wouldn't feel the pain if his feelings were burned to ashes, but he had underestimated their power to corrode the body and the mind. They had eroded his brain and his thought processes, leaving him with no place to hide.
"Michelle, I heard that a cool sports car came by to pick you up the other day," Hilda said, nonchalantly. After what had happened last time, Hilda didn't want to intrude Michelle's privacy, but there was a gossip going around the campus. It was a rumor that Michelle was a home wrecker, and her reputation had been greatly damaged. It was worse than before.
"Yeah, so?" asked Michelle. She knew what Hilda was getting at, but she didn't really care about the rumors. She was really busy doing her thing and minding her own business that she didn't have the time or the energy to waste on such insignificant gossips.
"Was it your boyfriend?" Hilda smiled, embarrassed and prayed that her answer wouldn't be the same as the rumors.
"Yeah. You met him the other day." Michelle smiled softly. She felt that Hilda was being too careful with her.
Hilda's eyes widened. "Really? You mean the handsome man I met last time? He isn't your brother," Hilda said sheepishly as she realized that she had made a stupid mistake.
"Luke is the only man I love. So stop trying to hook me up with Bradley. That'll never work," Michelle said, solemnly. She had long decided to restrain her flamboyant personality so that she would stop attracting attention. She had only craved for Luke's attention in the first place, but now, even that didn't seem necessary. There was no need to let Luke know that she loved him anymore. She would just keep her feelings to herself. Even if they weren't close to each other, she could silently stay by his side.
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