Chapter 80: A Night Tilted
No hello.
No greeting. Just that fierce, smoldering gaze locked onto her, sharp and unblinking.
The weight of that look pinned her in place, heart pounding in a way she couldn’t control.
His eyes slowly drifted away from her face, scanning her surroundings like he was studying every detail, taking in the room, the faint light, even the way she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.
It was awkward, raw, and charged with something Merlina wasn’t quite used to.
Keith, oblivious, kept talking. "That artwork is dope," he said, squinting at the screen, eyes drawn to a rustic wooden sculpture sitting on a shelf just behind her. "Where are you? Like, at family home or something?"
"Yeah," Merlina muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, too nervous to say more. Her eyes kept darting toward Craig, who hadn’t once broken his gaze. His presence was magnetic, he filled the entire screen, like nothing else existed.
He said nothing.
She said nothing.
That quiet gaze between them, heavy with unspoken feelings, freezing everything out.
Then Keith broke the silence, stumbling a little. "Uh, with your dad? Is your dad over there?"