Sylvia's eyes lifted, and her soft smile blossomed like a myriad of flowers caressed by the spring breeze.
Finishing his cigarette, Gabriel strolled back towards the house. As he passed by the neighboring window, he glanced back and, sure enough, there was a man, also clad in a blue sweater, who looked quite young.
With a fleeting glimpse, Gabriel withdrew his gaze and continued on his way.
Upon returning to the attic, as he walked down the corridor, suddenly a wooden door to his right opened. Gabriel looked up, locking eyes with the girl emerging from the room—an expression of surprise met his own deep, probing stare.
Since their first encounter, which had all the trappings of a setup by friends, they hadn't been in touch again. Today was their first unexpected meeting.
Inevitably, it was a small world when they were in the same city.
Sylvia was the first to break the silence. "You haven't left yet?"
She remembered him mentioning he would only be in C City for a day or two.
Gabriel nodded, "Got tied up with some things, decided to stay a bit longer."
Sylvia offered a warm smile, "Mr. Carnes, are you joining friends for dinner?"
"Yes." Gabriel responded curtly, his tone pausing for a beat before he added, "You don't have to be so formal here."
"So, what should I call you?" Sylvia tilted her head slightly, her eyes playfully roving, "Gab?"
She immediately felt the awkwardness of her own words.
Gabriel's brow furrowed slightly, quickly changing the subject, "Here for another round of matchmaking?"
"What?" Sylvia blinked in confusion.
Gabriel realized he had overstepped and, with a cold and serious face, said briskly, "Never mind, I should head off."
"Sylvia, you've got a call." Another man emerged from the half-open door, holding Sylvia's cell phone.
Noticing Gabriel standing by Sylvia, the man greeted him with a cultured smile, "Sylvia, ran into an acquaintance?"
Sylvia paused for a moment, "He runs a small business, overseeing a few employees."
"Oh, a small business owner?" Eugene was surprised, "He doesn't look it. What kind of business?"
"Anything and everything. Whatever makes money," Sylvia said.
"That kind of small business must be doing quite well."
"We should head back," Sylvia suggested with a smile.
Eugene walked ahead to hold the door open for Sylvia. As he waited for her, he asked in bewilderment, "Weren't you headed to the restroom?"
Sylvia's expression stalled, then she laughed, "Changed my mind."
"Then let's go back and continue chatting."
"Sure."

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Norah isn't a girl, but a twenty -five year old beautiful woman that loves Xavier Fleming/Gonzalez/Hanson....
Update 3103 hasn't been received and it hold pertinent information. Please fix it for us. Thank you....
This is great! I love the updates....
Now Xavier needs to call in the reinforcement, Gabriel and Jonathan to settle this. Thank you for the updates....
May we please have updates. Thank you...
Xavier will always protect Norah he must admit this to himself and Norah. I believe after they return from this , he'll need to approach Norah 's parents and he'll get support from Jonathan and Ella....
I like how you are getting all the different love interest committed, thank you for the updates....
Hoping Manly have his own love story here, atleast a short one...
Emily has finally stood up for herself. Now with Charlie's support, her mother and sister in law will be as quiet as church mice....
Another epic ten updates... this is great! I'm sooo enjoying this. Thank you for the updates....