He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 137

Chapter 137-

(Daisy’s POV)

“Oh.”

That was all I said after nearly bashing him down during my uncoordinated fleeing attempt.

Archer steadied me before I could fall properly, his hand firm around my arm while the other briefly caught my waist.

“You,” he said, blinking once in recognition. “The girl from the bar.”

Right.

The bar.

The alcohol.

The humiliation.

The tragic death of my dignity.

I became painfully aware of two things at once.

One: my eyes were still wet.

Two: he had definitely noticed.

I straightened immediately and stepped back out of his hold, trying to recover what little composure I had left.

Which wasn’t much.

“Yeah,” I said quickly. “And you’re the annoying alcohol prevention officer.”

His brows lifted slightly, then his gaze softened.

“You’ve been crying.”

Oh my God.

I instantly rubbed at my face.

“No,” I lied. “I just have pollen grain in my eyes.”

He stared at me.

“…pollen grain?”

“Yes,” I continued confidently, because if you start a stupid lie, you must honor it with commitment. “You know. Pollination. Flower reproduction. Nature becoming unnecessarily aggressive. I was near the garden and the pollen grain exploded.”

I gested-vaguely.

“It entered my eyes.”

Silence.

Then Archer nodded slowly with a small smile.

“I’m not buying any of that,” he said calmly. “But okay.”

And weirdly there was no mockery in it.

No pressure either.

Just understanding.

“I’ll give you a minute,” he added quietly.

That almost made me emotional again.

Which was honestly rude.

Because now I had to fight tears caused by someone being nice to me.

I quickly turned away and cleaned my face properly while trying to regain control over my breathing.

Behind me, Archer stayed quiet.

No pushing or questioning. Just silence.

The good kind.

After a moment, I exhaled and turned back toward him.

“Okay, I announced. “I’m done.”

His mouth twitched slightly.

“Done removing the pollen grain?”

“Yes,” I said seriously. “Avoid flowers. They’re dangerous by this time of the year.”

“I’ll remember that.”

The corner of his mouth lifted again. Then his gaze shifted toward me more carefully.

“You didn’t text me.”

Oh.

Right

That.

“Yeah…” I said awkwardly.

“Your phone got attacked by more pollen grain.” He said

I blinked.

“What?”

“You heard me,” he said smoothly. “Very tragic situation it must have been.”

That caught me off guard enough that a laugh almost escaped me.

Almost.

“Okay no,” I admitted. “I just had a rough evening and forgot.”

“That’s fair.” He shrugged lightly. “I understand that texting strangers from bars probably isn’t high on people’s priority lists.”

“I was going to text,” I lied weakly.

“Sure you were.”

“I was.”

“I believe you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

That actually earned a soft laugh from him.

God.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify