Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2857

“I won’t keep you any longer. Remember to come home after work,” Old Mr. Quintin reminded her warmly.

Sylvia smiled and agreed. After hanging up, she saved Old Mr. Quintin’s number in her phone.

She set the phone aside and resumed working, but the words “come home” lingered in her mind, echoing over and over.

She had a home now.

Not long after, the Quintins sent up her lunch in a five-tiered insulated carrier: four dishes and a soup. They were exactly the foods Sylvia had eaten the most of at dinner the night before.

Old Mr. Quintin had remembered her preferences.

A gentle warmth filled Sylvia’s heart, and her sense of family felt stronger than ever.

That afternoon, she received a call from Georgia, reminding her it was going to rain that evening and telling her to bring an umbrella and try to come home early after her dinner plans.

After hanging up, Sylvia sat holding her phone, a pang of guilt flickering through her heart.

*

The day passed quickly. By eight o’clock that evening, Sylvia had dinner at her usual restaurant, then headed back to her apartment complex.

When she opened her door, she saw the living room floor lamp glowing softly. On the sofa sat a tall man, his silhouette stretched by the light as he flipped casually through a book.

Sylvia walked over, a touch of exasperation in her tone. “Mr. Carnes, do you always invite yourself into other people’s homes without asking?”

“Other people’s homes?” Gabriel looked up. On that chilly, rainy night, his voice was cool and distant, like polished stone.

Sylvia crossed the room and sat down on the coffee table across from him. In the warm light, her delicate features looked languid and almost careless. “Mr. Carnes, I’m not your Sylvia anymore.”

Gabriel reached out, his hand encircling her slender waist. With a gentle tug, he pulled her onto his lap, his gaze dark and unreadable. “Maybe you’re not my Sylvia, but you’ll always be my Nana.”

Sylvia lifted her brows flirtatiously. “And what makes you think Nana belongs to you?”

Gabriel’s long, elegant fingers held her waist. His lips parted slightly. “Didn’t Georgia ever tell you? Back when you were still in her belly, she promised you to me.”

Gabriel gazed at her. “The only person I want is you. Whether you’re Nana or Sylvia—none of the labels matter.”

There was hardly any space between them now. Their eyes met and locked, and Sylvia’s heart raced. Almost involuntarily, she lowered her head and pressed her lips to his.

The instant their lips met, Sylvia closed her eyes, a sigh escaping from deep inside. She knew it—she could never resist this man.

Gabriel cupped her chin in his palm, deepening the kiss.

One kiss wasn’t nearly enough. The hand at her waist slid down, touching the hem of her skirt.

Outside, lightning split the sky, followed by a crash of thunder. Heavy rain drummed against the windows with a low, steady beat.

Inside, the dim amber light from the floor lamp blurred their figures together into a single, indistinct shape.

The flashes of lightning only heightened the sense of intimacy and chaos in the room.

Sylvia’s eyes shimmered with longing. Her lips brushed his earlobe as she struggled to catch her breath, like someone drowning and reaching for a lifeline. Her fingers found his short, coarse hair, but it slipped through her grasp again and again.