In the morning, Roman was the first to wake up. He did his workout, as usual, and right on ti—as the clock struck 7:00, Julie also stirred from her sleep.
When she woke up, the room was empty.
Julie frowned as she reached for the space beside her and felt only coolness.
It was more than enough proof that Roman had been gone from the bed for quite a while.
"Hm," she humd softly, feeling a little empty inside. But as she sat at the edge of the bed, everything that happened last night began to replay in her mind, causing her face to bloom with a smile.
Later, Roman ca in and settled beside her. "So now tell ," he asked gently, as he moved her hand from around his neck, "when would you like to start going to school?"
Without showing any sign of how much she stirred emotions in him, she simply turned her back to him.
She now sat between his legs, her back resting against his chest. Roman wrapped his arms around her, engulfing her in his embrace.
"I believe I’d like to start going to school from tomorrow," Julie replied with a soft smile on her face, as though already imagining herself attending university lectures.
"I can tell you’re tired of always being at ho, doing nothing," Roman said, and Julie nodded in agreent.
"Yes, I’m tired. I’m always at ho, alone. It’s lonely," she said honestly, and Roman shook his head slightly.
"So if I stayed ho, you still wouldn’t go to school?" he teased, intertwining their fingers.
"No," Julie replied with a playful smile.
"One day, or in the future after I’ve graduated, we’ll have all the ti in the world to be together."
Roman raised a brow. "Does that an you won’t pursue your dream or start working?" he asked, looking at her with curiosity.
Julie shook her head slowly. "Let tell you one thing," she said, her voice now steady and determined.
"In life, I want to be independent. I don’t want to depend on you—not just you, but anyone. I want to feel the pride that cos from working. That feeling people have when they earn their money through their own hard work. I want that."
There was confidence in her words, and determination in her voice.
Roman smiled gently. "Hmm, I like that," he said simply, as if already imagining her being successful and thriving on her own.
Julie smiled again, this ti over sothing that crossed her mind. She turned her head to look at him.
"But do you know, right now, I have another reason to study and work in the future," she said.
Roman tilted his head slightly, curious. "What’s that?"
"Now, one of the reasons I want to do all of that is not just to be independent," she said with a small grin, "but to miss you more."
Roman’s brows drew together in slight confusion, though his face was still full of a warm smile. "I didn’t get you," he said honestly.
Julie lowered her gaze, her cheeks turning pink with shyness.
"By working and going to school, I’ll spend more ti outside with people, and I’ll get to learn new things. But that ti apart will create distance between us, and it will make want to see your handso face even more," she confessed with innocent honesty.
"That way, when I co back ho, all I’ll want to see,or be with—is you."
Roman’s smile widened, now reaching his ears. Her words, her sincerity, and her calling him handso, all of it lted his heart.
"So you think I’m handso?" he asked, clearly enjoying her praise.
Julie blushed even more but smiled shyly. "Yes, you are handso," she confird softly.
"Julie, do you know how much I love you?" Roman asked, his tone dropping into sothing serious and heartfelt.
Julie lowered her eyes again, still blushing, and shook her head. She wanted to hear it—how much he truly loved her.
"As much as the first day I felt you deeply in my heart," he answered, his eyes holding hers.
"That day," he continued with a heavy sigh, "I felt pain inside my heart. It was so uncomfortable. I wanted to vomit everything I had eaten. When I saw the video online, I felt like my whole world was collapsing."
Julie’s heart clenched hearing the depth of his pain, of how much he had suffered for her.
"When there’s love," she said softly, her voice full of warmth, "you will find pain. And when there’s pain, you will always find love."
Roman looked at her, his eyes tender, vulnerable.
Julie slowly reached for him and kissed his forehead gently.
Then she cupped his face in her hands, her thumbs brushing his cheeks as she looked deep into his eyes.
It was the first ti she truly looked at him like this—so close, so unguarded, and so full of love.
Roman allowed her without batting an eye.
He searched her gaze as though it were a delicate piece of art or a mysterious experint he was trying to unravel.
There was sothing in her eyes that fascinated him—sothing soft, deep, and unspoken.
Julie was lost in the mont until she was pulled out of her trance by the sound of the bathroom door opening.
Her head turned instinctively—and there was Roman, stepping out with his hair damp, a towel draped casually over his shoulder, and nothing but sweatpants clinging to his hips.
Her breath caught.
Her eyes widened slightly as she quickly looked away, then back at him, and then away again.
Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, the heat creeping into her face uncontrollably.
No matter how many tis she had seen him like this, she would never get used to it.
The sight of his bare chest and toned arms always made her heart flutter in ways she couldn’t explain.
There was sothing so casual, yet so intimate, about seeing him fresh from the shower like that.
It was a view she wasn’t ready for this early in the morning—and yet one her eyes seed to seek on their own.
Roman didn’t appear to notice her flustered state—or maybe he did, and chose not to ntion it.
"Good morning, my heart’s desire," he greeted warmly, walking toward her with an easy smile.
Julie’s smile ca quickly, her earlier fluster replaced with joy.
The emptiness she had felt just monts ago was suddenly replaced by sothing whole—sothing full and warm.
Joy and excitent bubbled inside her chest, and she wasn’t even sure where it ca from. It was just there, strong and sudden.
She stared at him, her face still tinged with pink, feeling a quiet contentnt as if just seeing him lit up her entire world.
Like his presence had blossod a light inside her she hadn’t even known was missing.
"Good morning to you too," Julie greeted back, her voice soft and warm, though she tried to calm her racing heart.
Despite her greeting being simple—without any affectionate titles—Roman was perfectly content with it. Because sotis, it wasn’t about the words.
Sotis, it was about the way a person looked at you, the way they said your na, the way they smiled. And for Roman, her smile was enough.
In life, the way soone treats you often makes you want to treat them the sa, But when love is real, you give without keeping score.
"Are you ready for school?" Roman asked, adjusting the towel on his shoulder.
Julie nodded eagerly, like a child promised candy. Her earlier shyness was now buried beneath excitent.
"Okay then, my little artist," Roman said, grinning playfully. "Let’s get you ready."
Julie blinked at him, surprised by the nickna.
"Hey! ? Little?" she tilted her head, pretending to pout. "I’m not a child."
"I know," Roman said as he walked toward her, eyes twinkling with mischief. "But today is an exception."
He made a mock-hungry motion with his hands like he was about to grab sothing delicious, and Julie laughed, covering her face slightly.
His playful teasing always left her heart in a ss—flustered, amused, and completely helpless against him.
Roman gently took her hand and led her toward the dressing table.
As she sat, he stood behind her, looking at her reflection.
"Why artist though?" Julie asked, genuinely curious.
"Because," Roman said with a calm, affectionate tone, "you have a way of coloring everything around you. With your words, your spirit... even your silence. You don’t even realize it, but you’ve painted my life with your presence."
Julie’s breath caught again—this ti not from shyness, but from how deeply his words touched her.
Roman leaned closer, brushing her ear with his words. "Now let’s get you ready to paint the world."
Julie blushed anew. Her heart was full, her eyes bright.
And in that mont, Julie knew: being with Roman wasn’t just about being loved.
It was about being seen.
It was ho.
I hope you her enjoying the book and you can fill the love in your heart, thank you so much for being with till now.
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