Chapter 18
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
After landing at Rogenvale Airport, I looked around while pushing my suitcase, taking in the things that had changed since I’d left the city.
I hadn’t expected the first round of research at the lab to take up to two years. Thankfully, things had turned out well, and Professor Watts had given us all two months oft. Now, I was finally back in Rogenvale.
For a moment, a wave of emotion surged through me. It had been two years since I’d left. But this time, something was different.
I looked at Ezra, who walked excitedly beside me. My gaze softened. The difference was that I’d left Rogenvale alone two years ago, but now, I was back with someone by my side. I also had something important to do on this trip back.
Ezra checked the time. Then, he grabbed my wrist and started jogging. “We need to hurry, Nerissa, or we’ll be late!”
Tara had insisted on throwing me a welcome–back party when she’d heard about me returning to Rogenvale. It had been two years since I’d seen her and our other friends, so we had to catch up.
I missed them dearly, so I agreed. The welcome back party was set for the date Ezra and I arrived.
By the time we got to the restaurant, we were already running a bit late. Ezra tugged me inside anxiously. I didn’t know whether my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I seemed to see a familiar figure when heading up the stairs.
didn’t pay it any mind, though. I thought I was seeing things because we were in such a hurry. Anyway, we had to focus on getting to the private room.
Meanwhile, Eugene clutched his chest as excitement filled his gaze. He entered a state of raw joy over getting back something he’d lost.
It had been two years. He’d waited two whole years before finally seeing Nerissa again.
No one knew how he’d gotten through the long, lonely nights in that empty apartment. Initially, he’d been unable to sleep at all. Even if he did drift off into a fitful sleep, he would jolt awake while calling her name. Silence was all that would answer him.
No one would prepare breakfast for him anymore, and no one would wait for him to come home. He’d searched every corner of the apartment, but there was no trace of anything to do with Nerissa. Even the matching pajamas she’d bought in the past were gone.
All he could do was place the calendar beside the bed. Even if all it had was Nerissa’s breakup message, it was still something she’d left for him. Besides, he stubbornly thought that they weren’t broken up as long as he didn’t agree to it.
He just needed to see her again. He would explain everything to her and tell her he’d mistaken Cassandra as his savior. He’d already cut off contact with her, and the baby was gone.
The way he saw it, Nerissa had spent 20 years by his side. She wouldn’t let go of that so easily. He would continue waiting for her to return so he could tell her about his feelings. Then, they would reconcile, and everything would be back to normal.
Two years had passed, and the heavens had finally given him this chance.
At the same time, he thought about the young man he’d seen by Nerissa’s side. They’d seemed intimate, but he’d vaguely heard the guy addressing Nerissa as his senior. He figured the guy was just her junior, seeing as she’d been locked up in a lab for the past two years.
That thought calmed him. He followed Nerissa and Ezra into the restaurant when he saw where they were headed.
…
When Ezra and I entered the private room, we were greeted by a loud bang as confetti rained down on us. Tara ran forward and held my hand, saying, You didn’t even so much as text me over the past two years! I would’ve gone to the cops to lodge a missing persons report if I hadn’t known you were at the lab.”
Everyone laughed and started teasing me.
11
“Yeah, man. You disappeared after telling us the wedding was off two years ago, and we would still be in the dark if Tara hadn’t told us. That wasn’t nice of you!”
“Exactly! You kept something so big from us, and you’re late! You need to be punished!”
“Yeah! You’re not walking out of this room while lucid. We’re drinking the bar dry!”
Ezra had never met my friends before, so he was nervous. He worried they wouldn’t like him.
I noticed his uneasiness and surreptitiously held his hand. He was much calmer when our gazes met. I turned back to my friends, touched that they were genuinely happy to see me back.
I had something important to do, though. I had to introduce Ezra to them. I cleared my throat and held up our intertwined hands, saying loudly, “I’d lik to take this opportunity to introduce my junior to you. This is Ezra Grant.”
I paused. “He’s also my fiancé.”
I’d initially thought that it would’ve been hard for me to embark on another relationship after ending things with Eugene. I’d even prepared mys the prospect of dedicating my life to scientific research.
Unexpectedly, Ezra had slowly burrowed his way into my heart over the past two years. He and Eugene were complete opposites. If Eugene w that I couldn’t warm up no matter what I did, then Ezra was like the sun–he exuded warmth and light.
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Chapter 19
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I’d learned what true love was like from him. I’d learned what it was like to truly be in a relationship.
Two months ago, on our first anniversary, he’d popped the question. We’d agreed to have our wedding after the first round of research was over. My friends exchanged looks before erupting into cheers and whoops.
“Damn! You claimed you were away doing research, but you were actually dating him in secret, weren’t you?”
“Your fiance? When is the wedding? I want to be a bridesmaid!”
“Me, too!”
The joyful atmosphere put Ezra at ease. I smiled at my friends‘ antics. I was about to announce the wedding date when a shaky voice rang out behind me. “If he’s your fiancé, then what am 12”
