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“What did you do?”

“I got a partial scholarship to a se In the end, itoff student loans”

“Not for long,” Neal reminded her

She nodded

“And that’s why you accepted me, to pay off your loans?”

“No,” Elena replied honestly, “I accepted you because I’ht Sculpting – well it hasn’t panned out for me I can’t make ends meet and I can’t afford not to I would have had toback in with the that into account, my only option was to accept your offer”

“They’re that bad, huh?” Neal asked seriously

“Did I mention I have a twin sister?”

“Really? Identical?”

“No,” Elena replied, “but she’s everything that I’hter and I’ I do, well, when I do it, I know I’ compared to her, and I know I shouldn’t care what they think… but they’re my parents I want their approval, no matter how much I say I don’t care about their opinions”

“Maybe one day they’ll realize what you're really worth,” Neal said coly

Elena gave him a sad s”

“Well, maybe one day… you’ll have soh to you that their opinions will become irrelevant”

Elena sers crossed”

They were sitting close together, their hands still linked Neal was suddenly aware of their intertwined fingers Without over-thinking, he acted on instinct and a suddenly strong desire, and leaned towards Elena His lips caught hers as he made the decision She didn’t pull away Neal tilted his head to the side, drawing her in for a ly; her body was soft and pliant against his own