When There Is Nothing Left But Love

Ashton drummed his fingers on the table, and he gave a slight cough, warning me to sit up properly.

I blinked rather foolishly and sat up, rearranging my clothes hastily so they looked appropriate for the occasion.

Nora placed a slice of meat onto my plate. Leaning closer to me, she grinned and whispered, “The two of you sure understand each other very well!”

I snorted a little and took a bite of the meat. If we understood each other as perfectly as she thought, Ashton would never have brought Rebecca along in the first place.

My silence made Nora feel rather perturbed. Feeling rather chatty, she turned to Rebecca and said, “Ms. Larson, you’re really quiet! You’re so pretty, so I’m sure lots of men are queuing up to marry you. Do you have a boyfriend yet?”

Rebecca looked rather stunned by the sudden compliment. She replied haltingly, “Ms. Oberick, you’re too kind. I’m no beauty at all. You’re kind and generous, and an excellent match for Mr. Murphy. In fact, the both of you look like a match made in heaven.”

“Haha!” Linda snorted suddenly.

Nora touched her nose and smiled blandly. Since Rebecca had offered her a compliment, she couldn’t exactly scowl back at her. Instead, she plastered a grin on her face and continued to press, “So, Ms. Larson, do you have a boyfriend?”

Rebecca looked a little embarrassed. Shaking her head, she replied very honestly, “No, not yet!”

Nora looked very startled. “You’re so beautiful, and you don’t have a boyfriend? What’s wrong with men these days—are they all blind or something?”

I bit into another slice of meat and muttered quietly, “She has a huge crush on Ashton. He’s the one who’s blind, I suppose!”

up and smiled awkwardly, her cheeks

on the table, she

…

everyone mulled silently

rather late at night by the time the meal ended. Nora and Armond were probably going to spend some quality time by themselves—they

past few days. She decided to retire early to

turned to me and asked, “What else do you want to do now?” We had slept through the afternoon, and if we returned to the hotel room now, we wouldn’t be

a rather boring

tell me that Lavelian Village has a beautiful

didn’t think much of it. He nodded and asked me, “What about you? Do you want to come

and I wasn’t in the mood to go sight-seeing either. Besides, with Rebecca around, some unnecessary tensions were bound

go by herself, could I? The idea of

and said, “Alright, then.

market from the restaurant—it wasn’t very far away. I was never particularly chatty at night, and with Rebecca around, I felt even less inclined to strike up

at dinner. She seemed to have an endless

by a green belt on one side and the traffic

chatting about interesting things that had happened in K City recently. Since I hadn’t been around in K City, I had no idea

add to the conversation, I kept