The Divorce That Brought Us Back novel Chapter 245

After Seraphina left, Nora and Cassidy stayed at the cafe, chatting over their drinks.

"So, he secretly pursued you, and you silently had a crush on him. Neither of you said a word, both waiting for the other to make the first move. If neither of you spoke up, you'd probably bump into each other on the street in your eighties and still be gazing lovingly into each other's eyes."

Nora was speechless.

"No, no. He told me he held back because I was still in school. He planned to make his move after I graduated."

"What if you both met other people during that time?"

"When someone already occupies your heart, there's no room for a second person."

"But what if?"

"There are no 'what ifs'."

"What if Seraphina came back early and loudly announced her engagement to Maloney? You'd believe the rumors, get heartbroken, and agree to date some senior from your college. Then Maloney would see you with another guy, get heartbroken, and agree to marry Seraphina?"

Nora fell silent.

If all those conditions aligned, that hypothetical scenario could have actually happened.

The world was just one giant, twisted coincidence.

"What about you, then?"

Cassidy pressed on. "Your husband planned to confess after you graduated. What was your plan?"

Nora hadn't had one.

At least not during her college years.

Whenever she ran into Maloney back then, she treated him with a sense of awe. She never entertained any romantic notions.

Her only goal had been to study hard and break free from her toxic family.

When basic survival wasn't even guaranteed, romance was a luxury she couldn't afford.

Her secret crush was merely a way to motivate herself to grow.

He was like the bright moon in the night sky. She looked up to him, chased after him, and strived to become better, but she never imagined she could actually capture that distant moonlight.

Cassidy guessed Nora's thoughts just by looking at her reaction.

"You can't be too reserved in life. It's too easy to end up with regrets."

"It's always confusing when you're in the middle of it. You think I'm too reserved now, but none of you noticed his feelings for me back then either."

"You were both too reserved."

"You're just speaking in hindsight."

Looking back on it now, she realized that aside from his restrained words, his actions had been overflowing with desire and subtle hints.

Touching her calf while she was injured, pressing her shoulders while draping a coat over her, pinching her earlobe while fixing her scarf... those little moves were just the tip of the iceberg.

The most outrageous instance was when they were abroad.

Nora had just won the gold medal at The Golden Needle Awards, only to face massive public scrutiny. After exhaustingly dealing with the organizing committee's investigation, she dragged herself back to her hotel, where she conveniently bumped into Maloney in the lobby.

Maloney claimed he was on a business trip and happened to be staying at the exact same hotel.

Nora had believed him.

She had no choice but to believe him. She wasn't conceited enough to think he had flown across the world just for her.

Afterward, Maloney took her out to dinner and asked a lot of questions about the competition.

He even invited her back to his room.

He said he wanted to help her sort out the trouble she was facing with the competition.

Nora had righteously declined.

She insisted on handling her own problems.

Maloney used every excuse in the book to persuade her, but Nora, determined not to be a burden, stood her ground. After a bit of back-and-forth, he eventually backed off.