Chapter 537
It happened in a stifling classroom.
Chapter 537
They called themselves students, but in truth, they were prisoners.
The first time Jonathan saw Rina, he couldn’t help but look at her twice.
There was just something different about her.
Her hair was long and curled, dyed a striking silver-grey, and she wore metal braces that flashed when she spoke. There was an untamed defiance in her eyes and the
set of her brow.
Despite her delicate features, freckles were scattered boldly across her face.
So at first, Jonathan didn’t even think she was particularly pretty.
Now, as Jonathan stared at Niamh’s sleeping face, he found himself, for reasons he couldn’t explain, overlaying her features with the memory of Rina.
“No…”
He shut his eyes, shaking his head forcefully.
He’d stopped searching for Rina a long time ago.
It was his impatience and desperate hope to see Rina again that made him mistake Marina for her the moment he heard the piano playing.
That night, he stood in the rain outside the Juvenile Rehabilitation Center until
morning.
He was saying goodbye to his old self.
He’d made the choice to move forward.
Back then, he’d taken his first love seriously.
And now, he was just as serious about this new beginning.
Slowly, Jonathan leaned closer to Niamh.
Her sleeping face drew him in, almost as if she were casting a spell.
His gaze settled on her lips, slightly parted, her breath calm and steady.
He could almost catch the faint scent of fruit.
He wasn’t sure if it was something sweet she’d dabbed on her lips, or if Niamh’s
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mouth was simply that inviting.
He could hear the pounding of his own heart.
Moving closer, he tried to press his lips to hers.
But just as they touched, Niamh turned her head away in her sleep.
Jonathan frowned, frustration and disappointment mingling in his chest.
Niamh didn’t wake. She kept on sleeping, peaceful and unaware.
He sighed.
He could have just turned her head back and kissed her again.
But he didn’t want to wake her.
Niamh looked exhausted, and Jonathan wanted her to rest a little longer.
Even if he couldn’t steal another kiss, just watching her sleep was enough.
A deep blue Bentley rolled out of the rest area, the sign overhead announcing the highway’s destination: Coralis.
Niamh hadn’t expected that by the time she woke up, dusk would be falling-and they’d already arrived in Coralis.
Jonathan’s suit jacket was draped over her, carrying a faint trace of tobacco.
She wrinkled her nose.
“What’s wrong?”
Jonathan, pulling into a parking spot, noticed the change in her expression.
“Have you been smoking a lot lately?”
As soon as she asked, Niamh regretted it. Whether Jonathan smoked or not, and how much, wasn’t her business anymore.
“Sorry, did it bother you?” Jonathan said quietly, retrieving his jacket.
Without it, the cool air immediately wrapped around her, making her shiver.
She slipped out of the car and looked around-realizing they were already inside the Lunaria Island Resort.
Towering ahead was the Isabelline Tower; the Nimbus Summit Restaurant perched on its 126th floor.
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“You’re taking me to dinner here?”
Niamh looked up at the restaurant, then shot a glance at Jonathan.
“Even if you go to this much trouble, I’m not changing my mind.”
Her words left no room for doubt.
Jonathan didn’t even flinch. He only replied, cool and steady:
“Whether you change your mind is up to you. Whether I’m being extravagant is up to me.”
With that, he walked in beside her.
Nimbus Summit was Coralis’s most famous restaurant, and formal attire was
required just to get in.
Niamh remembered the last time she’d been there-Elmer had brought her, on
Valentine’s Day.
He’d surprised her with a stunning red dress, dazzlingly vibrant, and a matching set of ruby jewelry.
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