Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3137

She had heard through the grapevine that Jenny had applied to be his personal assistant, and it was blatantly obvious she was after Adrian.

She started ticking off points on her fingers. "Jenny has a master's from an Ivy League. Sure, she's not a supermodel, but she's definitely cute and very put-together. Her dad is a medical professor, and her mom is an engineer. Solid genetics all around."

"Norah!" Adrian cut her off sharply. "I am not interested in her. I don't see her that way at all, so quit playing matchmaker."

Norah dropped her hands with an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, killjoy."

The light turned green. Adrian pressed the gas and sailed through the intersection. He shot a glance at her in the rearview mirror. "Why didn't you guess that the woman I like is you?"

Norah shook her head with absolute certainty. "Not a chance."

Adrian's eyes widened slightly. "Why not?"

She looked at him deadpan. "Because we have the exact same personality. Like magnets, identical poles repel."

Adrian: "..."

She was fresh out of a deeply traumatic breakup, and Adrian knew now wasn't the time to confess his feelings. It would feel predatory. As long as she had erased Xavier from her heart, he had all the time in the world to make her see how much he loved her.

*

Xavier drove himself back to the Hanson estate. The entire family was waiting for him at the dinner table.

The moment he walked in, Hannah jumped up, her face plastered with a warm, welcoming smile. "Gonzalez, you're back! Your father was just talking about you."

Gonzalez didn't even grant her a passing glance. He completely ignored her and headed straight for the stairs.

Hannah was left standing there in humiliating silence. She cast a pathetic, deeply wronged look at Simon.

Simon, who was reading the paper on the sofa, sighed. "He just got back. He's not used to being home yet. Give him some time."

Hannah's expression instantly smoothed into one of understanding. "Of course. It's perfectly fine. I'm just so glad he's finally home. I promise to take excellent care of him and make sure he feels the warmth of this family."

Simon gave a satisfied nod. "Thank you for being so patient."

Gonzalez crossed his long legs. A suffocating wave of despair clouded his dark eyes. He brushed a large finger over Circe's head. "Do you miss her?"

The little cat tilted her head back and let out a soft meow.

"She forgot you, too." A bitter, self-deprecating smirk twisted his lips. "She forgot every single thing tied to me."

The erasure was so terrifyingly complete. So absolute.

Circe stared up at him with massive brown eyes, trilling softly as if trying to comfort him.

He continued stroking her fur. "She looks so happy without me. Do you think I have the right to ruin her peace all over again?"

The rough calluses on his palms felt nice against her chin, and Circe purred, aggressively rubbing her head against his hand.

He gently pushed her head down and turned his gaze to the window. The city skyline was blazing with blinding neon lights against the pitch-black sky, but at the end of all that brilliance, there was only darkness.