Author's POV

As you stared at the finished sketch sitting in your book, your fingers grazed over the portrait of the sleeping man whom you couldn’t stop from wandering into your mind.

You let out a long sigh and glanced over to the bed which was empty.

Again.

After the fight you and Kris had about your night job a few days ago, the latter had been sleeping in the guest bedroom.

It was clear as day that he was upset with you and the same applied for yourself.

You were upset with Kris for more reasons than one but none of that amounted to how much more you were upset with yourself for feeling this way.

Although you hated to admit it, you kind of missed his presence; you supposed it was because you had been around him for so long that you had somehow become accustomed to him.

His voice.

His face.

His scent.

His habits.

His smile.

His everything.  

What am I thinking? You snapped out of your ridiculous thoughts, shook your head and slammed the sketchbook shut, realizing how wrong it was for you to think in such a manner.  

Next, the door opened and when you glanced up, you saw Kris entering the vicinity.

You could feel your stomach churning and knots forming when you registered that this wasn’t a hallucination of yours.

Maybe, just maybe, it was time for the two of you to reconcile now. And to be honest, you were glad that he was going to be the one to make the first move.

You were never too big on apologizing for anything, not even to someone who had so much influence over you like Kris.

Your hopes were sparked almost instantly; however they died as fast as they had come when he walked by you.

It was like you weren’t even there.

He didn’t bother to turn your way or utter a single word as he headed for the walk-in closet the two of you shared and you faltered.

You didn’t know why but you felt your heart drop into your stomach as you forced yourself to avert your gaze.

You could hear him shuffling through some things and after a few short minutes, he returned and exited the room just like how he had entered (without acknowledging you), leaving you to accompany loneliness for another night.

Then you started to think that maybe, just maybe, you were the only one who felt like something—no someone—was missing but you decided you were going to keep that fact a secret.

Because Huang Xinlei never caved in.  

Unless it was Tao of course but other than that, she was as stubborn as a boulder.

“I don’t care about you either, Wu Yifan.” You mumbled.

But deep down you knew that was a lie.

A big fat lie even you couldn’t convince yourself to buy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Kris stood as still as a statue as his grip on the random t-shirt he had grabbed grew tighter.

Next, he peered back at the closed door which separated the two of you and felt his heart growing heavier.

He didn’t need to go in there for a shirt.

No, he had plenty stocked up in the guest room.

He just…

He just needed to see you.

To check if you were still alive.

To see if you were okay.

To find you still there, even when you had the freedom to leave.

And now that he knew that you were still there with him, made his heart race and skip a beat.

But he couldn’t let you know that because he was afraid.

Of what?

Even he couldn’t give a precise answer to that question.

“Good night, Lei.” He let out in a mere whisper before he went back to the room he had been restless in for another night filled with nothing but silence.

~*~

“Noona, I’m surprised you haven’t called me yet.” Tao said over the line.

You tried your best to laugh so that your brother would think you were okay but you failed because he caught you.

“What’s wrong, Lei?” He asked, his tone experiencing a sharp shift.

“Nothing’s wrong, Tao.” You replied, trying to sound strong and firm.

“No