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“You knoell as I do that a runed confession forto be looking to your family…no, to you… to handle it the way such matters have always been handled”
I dug into the bottourt as I spoke, “So since you are also supposed to look at the optics, explain to me hoould it look to have two dead kids?”
“One dead kid and a dead murderer”
“A kid who s before looking up at hione, especially so soon, the blame will fall ondeal out of such a small issue, which should have been left to the boys to resolve Now look what happened’…bad optics…for me”
He didn’t reply, instead he moved closer and closer…until he was too close He reached inside his jacket pocket, pulling out an origa it up between us, he twirled it in his fingers as he spoke, “I re dandelions one by one and everyone thought you were crazy, but I realized you did that to see which dandelions were the strongest Which ones wouldn’t bloay because of the wind as you walked You were testing each flower and when you collected the perfect ones you’d use them to make a crown, place it on your head, and with this enoret up and run and spin and jump as hard as you could, until every last petal ca all around you You’d close your eyes and make wish…and each time you did…I did too”
“You wished to haveto take the paper flower froers barely touc
hed my ear as he brushed my hair behind it and placed the paper flower there, too
“No, Dona,” he said softly, “I wished that whatever you ishing for would come true Because in my mind, any wish from someone as sweet, kind, and innocent as you deserved to come true”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I stood up and he leaned back, allowing me to move around the chair However, I didn’t leave Instead, I kissed hiently, tenderly His hand fell to ainst each other…his hand sliding down to grab my ass when I stopped him, and pulled away
“The ca the corner of my lip “Later”
He just nodded and letaround him, I headed back out the door And just as I was about to make my escape he spoke
“It is bad optics…for you, I knoever, it’s worse optics for you to look weak The public only reirl who cried her heart out the day her mother died… They need to see and know that you are no different than Ethan,” he said I turned around to tell hiain before I could “My job is also to tell you things you don’t want to hear Yes, I know, annoying Ethan hates it, too”
The shit-faced grin on his lips as he ate my leftover strawberries killed the whole mood he had worked so hard to set with the damn dandelion
“And you knohat I said about later… I need to cancel” His mouth dropped open I smiled “You should have stopped while you were ahead, Tobias Ethan can simply hate you… I can blue ball you”
I left and I didn’t look back, allowing the doors to close hirand staircase, to the elevator which lead to our private roo the paper flower from behind my ear