Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3280

Gonzalez slowly got to his feet. "I won't bother you anymore, but we're still neighbors. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

A lump formed in Norah's throat. She gave a small nod, forcing a polite, distant tone. "Thank you."

He turned and walked out.

Once he was gone, the apartment was bathed in bright, unforgiving light, yet Norah didn't feel the slightest sense of relief from escaping the dark. Instead, a crushing wave of loss crashed over her.

She even felt a flicker of resentment. Everything had been perfectly fine between them—why did he have to go and ruin it by confessing?

Now, everything was a mess. She couldn't see Circe anymore, and she had lost her dinner buddy.

She let out a frustrated, depressed sigh. Pulling her knees to her chest, she rested her chin on her hand and watched the endless rain. The storm outside seemed to seep right into her bones, leaving her feeling utterly cold and desolate.

Back in his own apartment, Gonzalez stared at Circe, who had been startled awake and was looking around in confusion. It felt as though a thousand needles were piercing his heart.

Maybe tonight hadn't been the right time to confess. He simply hadn't been able to control himself.

*I love you!*

*I'm officially declaring that I'm pursuing you starting today. You don't have to do anything. Just... don't reject me!*

*Xavier, I've chosen you for the rest of my life!*

The echoes of her past promises rang in his ears. But where was the girl who had so fiercely loved him?

She had loved Xavier Flemmings. But now he was Gonzalez Hanson. Should he revert to being Xavier just to wait for her?

To wait for her to come back to him?

An unspeakable agony tore through his chest. He collapsed onto the sofa, completely defeated, feeling as though he were still trapped in the pitch-black darkness of the power outage.

For the next few days, Norah didn't see Gonzalez at all.

Before, they would occasionally bump into each other in the elevator during their commute. Now, the door next to hers remained tightly shut. There was no sign of life inside. It felt as if he was the one who had moved away.

Norah nodded. "Give me two boxes... no, make it ten."

"Right away!" The clerk beamed, immediately hurrying off to bag her purchase.

Norah walked out of the pet store carrying the heavy bag. When she returned to The Eden Apartments, she stopped in front of the door next to hers and raised her hand to knock.

The sound of her knuckles against the wood made her chest tighten with anxiety.

She started rehearsing excuses in her head for when Gonzalez opened the door. She would tell him the pet store employee had aggressively up-sold her on the cookies, or that a coworker who owned a cat bought too many and gave them to her.

Just as her mind spun with frantic justifications, the door clicked open.

But it wasn't Gonzalez.

The middle-aged maid who used to take care of Circe stood there, her face lighting up with a warm smile. "Oh, miss! It's you!"

Seeing that Gonzalez had brought the maid back, an indescribable sense of loss slammed into Norah's chest. It felt exactly as if something precious had just been violently ripped away from her.