Janice paused, seemingly surprised by his blunt answer.
"I'm sorry," Xavier continued. "I never made it clear to Norah. Please don't blame her. She's young and doesn't know any better. This is entirely my fault."
"So, our Norah is dealing with unrequited love," Janice said, her tone filled with surprise.
Xavier pressed his lips into a tight line and stayed silent.
Janice smiled faintly. "Then she must have been a huge bother to you. I apologize on her behalf."
Xavier's chest tightened. "She wasn't."
"In that case," Janice said gently, "I'd prefer if she didn't come here anymore. Once you two are apart, her enthusiasm will fade over time, and she won't bother you again."
Xavier's dark eyes were bottomless, hiding any trace of emotion. "I'll handle it," he said softly.
"Alright. I trust you." Janice smiled and nodded.
Janice didn't stay much longer. After she left, Xavier sat alone on the second-floor balcony for an hour before pulling out his phone and calling Simon Hanson.
"Didn't you want to set me up on a date? When is it?"
Simon was shocked but thrilled. "You finally thought it through?"
"I'm not coming back to the Hanson family right now. If she can accept that, we can meet and talk," Xavier said.
"Then when are you coming home?" Simon asked.
"I don't know," Xavier replied coldly.
Simon didn't dare push his luck. The fact that Xavier was even willing to date was enough to make his day.
Hanging up, Simon immediately went to find Hannah Hanson to make the arrangements.
The very next day, Hannah called Xavier. She asked what he thought of Carol, the girl he'd met previously, and explained that Carol had been interested in him from their very first meeting. Carol had just held some misunderstandings about the Hanson family, which were now cleared up, and she had been asking about him repeatedly.
He didn't reply.
Norah quickly sent another. [Did you get my message? If Circe gets sick from the rain, I'm dragging you to the vet with me.]
Perhaps annoyed by her relentless texting, he called out to Damian to bring Circe upstairs, then replied to Norah. [Damian got her.]
Norah: [You're Circe's dad. You need to take responsibility for her instead of pushing it onto others.]
[By the way, it's time for her vaccines. Let's take her this Saturday.]
[I went shopping with my coworkers after work today and bought you two shirts. Your old ones are starting to fade.]
Xavier didn't respond, but Norah kept typing. [Alright, go to bed early. Goodnight, see you this weekend!]
Reading the lighthearted texts, he could easily picture the bright, playful smile on the girl's face.
Xavier stared at his phone, waiting until the screen dimmed and turned black before setting it down and lying in bed.

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan)
Thank you for the updates....
I love it, I love it! Thank you for the updates....
Dear author Lucy, may we please have updates. Thank you....
There's a song currently playing via YouTube and TikToc by LowDii "Touch Me Softly" that makes me think of Norah and Xavier (Gonzalez). Please, I'm looking forward to updates. Thank you for your writing....
May we please have updates. Thank you....
As the plot thicken. Adrian is done for and he can't try to control Norah, so he'd probably tattle to Janice who's gone for two weeks. Thank you soooo much for the updates....
These updates were too funny. Thank you so much for the updates....
I forgot to add Amy to the group of pregnant women,since she was the first. Emily and Sylvia better be careful since pregnancy is in the air....
Wow! This is great, both Estelle and Magdalen are pregnant at the same time and I hope that Xavier is Norah neighbor. Thank you for the updates....
Author Lucy you're a blessing. Thank you so my for the updates. I hope that Norah's neighbor is Xavier she gets her memory back....