Chapter 10
853 Words
A heavy silence filled the living room as Rina and Adam sat across from each other. The air between them was thick with something unspoken, something unfamiliar. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn’t easy either.
Adam was the first to speak. “How are you doing?”
Rina glanced at him before looking away. “Nothing’s changed. I feel the same.” Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of hesitation. “What about you? How’s your wound?”
Adam shifted slightly. “It’s already okay, as long as I don’t move around too much.”
It had been three months since he was discharged from the hospital. Three months of staying away, of letting work and his issues with Ryan keep him occupied. But no matter how much he distracted himself, he couldn’t forget about her.
His eyes lingered on her, taking in the sight of her after so long.
Rina noticed his gaze and frowned slightly. “What is it?”
Adam hesitated before shaking his head. “Nothing.”
Rina pursed her lips, clearly unconvinced. She had so many questions, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear the answers.
Still, she couldn’t ignore the one thing that had been bothering her the most.
“Why did you come here?”
Adam looked away for a moment before answering. “I needed a place to stay.”
Rina frowned. “You have a mansion, don’t you?”
Adam let out a small chuckle, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah, I do. But right now, this is where I want to be.”
She studied him for a moment, trying to understand what he wasn’t saying. Finally, she sighed.
“You can stay,” she said. “But don’t expect me to treat you any differently just because you disappeared for three months.”
Adam’s lips twitched into a small smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you.”
Despite her words, something about having him here again made Rina feel... different. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to understand why.
Rina stood up, brushing invisible lint off her skirt. “I’ll make some tea,” she said, more to fill the silence than anything else.
Adam watched as she disappeared into the kitchen. The sound of running water and the clinking of cups filled the space she left behind. He leaned back against the couch, exhaling slowly.
He had imagined this moment a thousand times during the past three months. What he would say to her. How he would explain his absence. But now that he was here, words felt insufficient.
Rina returned minutes later, placing a steaming cup in front of him. She sat down across from him, cradling her own cup between her hands.
“So,” she said, blowing gently on her tea. “Are you planning to tell me what happened?”
Adam looked down at the dark liquid in his cup. “What do you mean?”
Rina scoffed. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the part where you disappeared from the hospital for three months without a word?”
Adam winced slightly. “It wasn’t like that…”
“Then explain.”
He hesitated. He wanted to tell her everything.
“After I got out of the hospital, I had to deal with a lot of things work, my family, and my conflict with Ryan...” He ran a hand through his hair. “I thought maybe it would be better if I stayed away for a while.”
Rina’s fingers tightened around her cup. “Better for who?”
Adam sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe for both of us.”
Rina looked at him for a long moment before setting her cup down with a soft thud.
“You missed me, don't you?.” The words were quiet, but certain.
His gaze snapped to hers. “What?”
Adam’s throat tightened.
She wasn’t wrong.
“Am I wrong?” Rina asked, tilting her head slightly.
Adam let out a breathless chuckle. “You’re annoyingly sharp, you know that?”
Rina smirked. “I’ve been told.”
For a moment, the tension between them eased. The corners of Adam’s lips lifted slightly, and Rina felt something unfamiliar stir in her chest.
But then, reality settled back in.
Rina sighed, leaning back against the couch. “Look, I don’t know why you really came back. But if you’re going to be here, don’t just leave without a word again. I’m not asking for much, just… don’t disappear.”
Adam stared at her, feeling something warm spread through him.
She had every reason to push him away. To tell him to leave.
But she didn’t.
She was still letting him in.
“…I won’t,” he promised.
Rina nodded and picked up her tea again, taking a slow sip.
Neither of them spoke after that, but the silence between them felt different now—lighter, more familiar.
And for the first time in three months, Adam felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
- Writer
