When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 126

Whatever was going on with Brody, it didn’t matter to her anymore. She shouldn’t dwell on it. She couldn’t. Nelly grabbed her phone, hoping to scroll mindlessly until she felt sleepy. That’s when she noticed a message from Jonah.

“Are you asleep?”

He had sent it ten minutes ago. Nelly hesitated, then replied with a simple “No” and a little sleepy emoji. Her message had barely gone through before her phone started ringing. It was Jonah.

She answered right away. “Hey, Jonah…”

“Having trouble sleeping?”

His voice had this deep, magnetic quality, even softer and warmer than usual in the quiet of the night. Just hearing him made Nelly’s heart melt a little.

“Yeah… I can’t really fall asleep.”

“Why not?”

“It’s nothing. Just… too much on my mind these days.”

Jonah didn’t say anything for a few seconds. The silence stretched between them. Nelly didn’t want to sound negative, so she changed the subject quickly. “So, did you need something?”

“I can’t sleep either. I thought maybe we could talk for a bit.”

His voice was so gentle. Every time they talked, Nelly felt herself relax. She didn’t want to say no to him.

“Sure. Let’s chat.”

Jonah gave a quiet hum, but then fell silent again. The conversation stalled a little, and Nelly could sense he was nervous. Maybe he wasn’t used to talking to people like this. She decided to break the ice and asked about some of his likes and dislikes.

Her first question was about his favorite color. She remembered the tie she wanted to give him but lost to Brody. If she bought another one, it might as well be a color Jonah liked.

He thought for a moment. “I don’t really have a favorite color.”

“Oh, really? Then what color do you usually wear?” she asked.

“Black,” he answered honestly. Then, as if realizing something, he added, “But I’d like any color you pick.”

Nelly paused, her cheeks suddenly burning. It was silly, but even over the phone she felt like he could see right through her.

Jonah didn’t push further. Instead, he asked, “Are you free tomorrow night?”

“Tomorrow night?” Nelly considered her schedule. She’d be done with work and didn’t have any other plans. “Yeah, I think so.”

Eventually, Nelly could hardly keep her eyes open. She mumbled, “Jonah, why aren’t you sleep? Aren’t you tired?”

Jonah waited a moment before answering. “I guess… because I was thinking about you.”

No answer came from the other end. After a little while, he could hear the soft sound of Nelly’s breathing. She had fallen asleep.

Jonah smiled to himself and stayed on the line a while longer before finally hanging up.

The next morning, Nelly arrived at work early. Today was the new product photoshoot, and Nancy was already getting her makeup done. Nelly stayed with Nancy the whole morning. Nancy really was an international supermodel. The photographer barely had to direct her, and every shot looked like it belonged in a luxury magazine.

After the shoot, Nelly invited Nancy out for lunch. Nancy had been in the fashion world for years and knew everything about both local and international brands. Nelly picked up a lot of great advice from her.

“You’re definitely the right person for this,” Nelly said, feeling more confident about the upcoming launch.

Nancy smiled, accepting the compliment. She thought Nelly’s designs were high-end too, easily as good as anything from the big names overseas. As long as they could get into the market, Nelly would be a success.

After lunch, they walked around the mall together. Jonah called while they were shopping. Since Nancy was right there, Nelly only spoke for a minute before hanging up.

But Nancy noticed anyway. “Nelly, do you like Jonah?”