Chapter 113

LILY.

The shelves, rows, and columns were filled with books, and the smell of newly opened packages, ink, and flowers owned the room. I had never been in this space before, and staring at Rune's face, neither had he.

Except for Adler.

And there he was, obviously fidgeting and struggling to get his words out. That had to be the reason he didn't notice the huge bags under my eyes; he had all of his concentration on forming a simple sentence.

In the last two days, there was the thought that he would never do it. Even after our encounter in the golf cart, I continued to be ignored, more like avoided, and yeah, I took it like a champ and sulked alone on my bed and in the dark.

Seeing them now, I felt the darkness hovering around me disappear into thin air. It had been days of getting accustomed to the strangeness and struggling to get used to living without him.

"...can I text my apologies instead?"

I scowled at him, and he sighed again. "Fuck me."

Salvatore's smile was faint, but I caught