"I can’t do the test yet. The doctor said I need to... um... have a fuller bladder." Vera Wave looked at the man’s face and smiled sweetly at him. "Kris Cooper, the doctor said drinking so juice would help. Could you get a bottle?"
Kris Cooper stared into her eyes. "And then you’ll run off again, is that it?"
"Wha—How could that be?" His guess hit too close to ho, and she lowered her face, flustered. "I... I just want so juice. Or, you could co with , and we can go buy it together?"
He stared at her intently for a mont, then took her hand and guided her to an empty chair. "Sit down."
"Wait here. I’ll be right back."
He placed her bag on the chair beside her and turned towards the stairwell.
Watching his figure disappear at the top of the stairs, Vera Wave’s fingers tightened around the lab report.
Finally, she did stand up, slung her bag over her shoulder, and slipped away towards a different staircase, hurrying down.
When she neared the back door, she glanced over her shoulder. Seeing no sign of Kris Cooper, she patted her chest, sighing in relief, and turned to leave.
The mont she turned, she bumped right into soone.
"Sorry, I didn’t an to!"
She apologized and tried to step around him, but he moved to block her path.
Vera Wave looked up. Kris Cooper was frowning at her, his expression as dark as a sky before a thunderstorm.
"Still trying to run?!"
She stamred, unable to speak, "I... I..."
The man’s frown deepened, his voice icy.
"Is this ga of hide-and-seek fun to you?"
Her head drooped even lower, her gaze fixed on her toes, as flustered as a schoolgirl caught misbehaving.
"I... I’m sorry."
"I don’t want to hear ’sorry’!" Kris Cooper snatched the lab report from her hand. "You’re still hiding things from , still avoiding ! What have I done so wrong that I don’t even have the right to know I’m going to be a father?!"
"You..." Vera froze, then bit her lip. "You haven’t done anything wrong. It’s my fault. Just let go, please?"
"No!" the man roared. After a mont, he reached out and gripped her arm. "Vera, co ho with , please?"
His voice was soft now, all anger gone.
An ache pierced her heart, and tears pricked her eyes, threatening to fall.
She wanted to go ho too. She wanted to be with him. But whenever she thought of her father, guilt consud her...
"Kris, I’m begging you, just let go. I really don’t want to be with you anymore."
The man’s fingers, gripping her wrist, began to tremble.
"Why?!"
"I don’t love you anymore! I’m flighty, I’m fickle..."
"You’re lying!"
"You..." Vera, hurt and furious, yelled back, "Then what do you want from ?!"
"Co ho with . Marry . Spend the rest of your life with , just like you always said you would."
She snapped her head up. "That’s impossible now, Kris!"
"Why is it impossible?!"
"Because..." She wrenched her arm free. "It just is! It’s simply impossible!"
She wanted to be with him too, to spend her whole life with him, but she couldn’t bear it. She really couldn’t. Every ti she saw him, she would rember her father, rember him lying on the ground, covered in blood...
Perhaps this was fate.
She and he... they were destined never to be together.
Pushing him aside, she strode quickly down the steps.
"Vera!" he yelled furiously after her. "If you walk out today, I... I’ll never look for you again!"
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