Chapter 35

ELEANOR

I felt a sudden poke on both sides of my waist, and I jumped, startled. I whipped around, only to find Enzo standing behind me, a playful smirk on his face. I wasn’t expecting him to follow me into the kitchen. I had hoped for space, to be alone for a bit, to figure out what was going on inside my head. But he was persistent, always trying to keep the moment going.

I didn’t turn to look at him. I just stood there, facing the counter, hoping he would get the hint and leave me alone.

But he didn’t.

"What's going on, Eleanor? You’ve gone all quiet on me," he asked, his voice carrying that same flirtatious tone he’d used earlier.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. The way he was talking, trying to be flirty and charming, I wasn’t in the mood for it anymore. The space between us felt heavy, and I was desperate for air. The heat from earlier had already faded, and now I just felt drained.

All I wanted was to be alone with my thoughts, to figure out why I had let things go so far in th