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“It’s really okay, Kat,” MJ said reassuringly as she took the seat across her friend. “Everything’s my fault.” Swiftly changing the subject, she asked, “But you’ve really gotten me curious. Whatever did Jack do to you that he owes you a favor?”
Katya waved a hand in the air. “Oh, nothing. The usual.”
“You don’t want to tell me?”
“It’s just too embarrassing. But don’t jump to any stupid conclusions – I’ve never liked him, and he’s never liked me. We were just both...at the wrong place and time. And another guy,” she muttered under her breath.
MJ’s eyes brightened. “Aha! I heard that.”
“It’s nothing.Nothing.Forget it. Please?”
She had never seen Katya so flustered. “I will, I will. I promise.”
They proceeded to eat quietly after that, both of them busy with their thoughts even though both of them also did their best to feign interest in their food. Unlike most university cafeterias, Christopoulos University’s cafeteria was designed like a first class restaurant and open round the clock. As a result, most students preferred to enjoy their dinners at the cafeteria rather than be bothered to leave the campus.
At seven in the evening, the cafeteria was at its busiest, with students jostling for table space. MJ allowed herself to be distracted by the noise and activity around her, feeling secretly wistful as she gazed at the laughing carefree expressions on the other freshmen’s faces.
If she had never been James Cartwright’s daughter, maybe she could be like them, too? Worrying only about grades, club activities, and finding a date for Thanksgiving. But then, if she had been like them, she would never had any reason to explore out of town that day, and she would never ever have gotten to meet Rick – or know about Helios Andreadis.
A sigh escaped her.
No, she wouldn’t wishnotto be James Cartwright’s daughter, after all. Every tortuous moment spent under his roof had been worth being able to know Helios and, even for a very short time, being cared for by him.
The doors of the cafeteria suddenly slammed open, causing everyone to look up except MJ. When she heard the sound, she looked down at her plate determinedly. Whatever the cause of that commotion was, it was at least one controversy she wasnotgoing to be part of.
“MJ?” Katya suddenly said.
“Yeah?” she asked as she fed herself a spoonful of risotto.
“I think you better be ready.”
“Huh?”
“Because right now, Helios Andreadis is heading this way and he does not look...friendly.”
MJ’s head shot up, just in time to see Helios stop right in front of her table. He was dressed in his usual casual attire, but even so, every other guy in the room paled in comparison. He was that beautiful. He was...Mr. Sunshine, after all.
The shock of seeing him was so great it had her choking, and she made a wild grab for the bottle of water to keep food from snorting out from her nose and mouth.
Dear God, if you love me, please let me know how to perform a self-lobotomy? Because I do not want to ever remember this happening. Ever.
But as always, God didn’t answer on His own.
Instead, God had Helios offering her a handkerchief, neatly pressed, beautifully soft, and pristine white.
Looking down at her, Helios tried to mentally summarize everything he had to say. But all he could think of was how much he loved her. He remembered all the days they had spent together and wanted a thousand more days like it. A million, a billion – an infinite number of days would not be enough. This girl, with her love for tomboyish clothes, her contradicting ways and enchanting optimism – he loved every little thing about her, and his heart would always only beat for her.
When she seemed to have developed a fascination with a spot on the floor, Helios said gruffly, “You have something in the corner of your mouth.” He offered her his handkerchief again.
Grabbing the handkerchief, she patted her mouth clean, muttering, “You don’t need to shout it out to everyone.”
“I wasn’t shouting.” For fuck’s sake, couldn’t he do anything right with her?
“You’re shouting now.”
Helios took deep calming breaths. It was like their first time all over again, and they were fighting like cats and dogs. In any case, shouting at the girl he loved was not the way to woo her back. He looked around, searching for any signs of the other man. But there was none.
Looking back at MJ and seeing that she still hadn’t raised her head, he thought,What the hell,and dropped on one knee in front of her.
