Chapter 193

**Chapter 193**

“Yes,” I whispered hoarsely.

“Good luck! Remember, take a deep breath and don’t jump to conclusions. Let him explain first before you react. Update me on everything.”

“Tomorrow,” I promised her, and then I hung up the phone.

I placed the phone on the nightstand and plugged it into the charger. Turning my attention to him, I noticed he was still standing in the doorway, watching me closely.

with a frown.

“Irene said you were unwell,” he told me. “You were fine this morning!”

I nodded and wiped my cheeks again, hoping he didn’t see how blotchy my face was or the tears that were still lingering.

I felt weak in front of him, and I hated it. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t help myself.

“Yeah, I was just a little under the weather,” I lied. “I think I might have eaten something bad.”

“Whatever Chester made you?” he asked through clenched teeth. “I’ll fire him and—”

“No!” I quickly replied. “Don’t fire him; he didn’t do anything wrong. It was something I ate at school. Nothing more.”

He looked a bit disappointed. I could tell he wanted to fire Chester because Chester annoyed Gavin. But I wasn’t going to let that happen. I liked Chester. He was funny and made my time here feel less lonely.

I felt like I belonged here, especially when I was with him and Harper. But that feeling changed when I saw Skyla and Gavin together. A wave of sickness washed over me, and I looked down at my lap, trying to hold back tears before they could fall.

I could feel my cheeks flush as I asked, “How was your date?” My voice was tinged with bitterness, and I couldn’t hide it.

“It wasn’t a date,” he replied right away. “It was just a casual dinner. Chanse thought it would be nice.”

“Wait, didn’t you say anything about it in the text? How did you know?” His voice trailed off, and he looked confused.

I bit my lip, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I knew I had nothing to be embarrassed about, but I couldn’t help it.

I didn’t ask Irene to send me a photo of Gavin and Skyla as they were leaving. But she did anyway. She captioned it, “My father is going on his first real date in years! Don’t they look beautiful together?”

When I saw the photo, I felt a knot in my stomach.

I have been crying ever since. I hated how it made me feel, but I couldn’t stop myself. Skyla and Gavin looked amazing together. Skyla wore a shimmering red dress and leaned close to Gavin, who was dressed in a nice suit. They looked perfect side by side, and it hurt to see them like that.

He was dressed casually now, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Skyla had helped him change out of his suit.

“Irene sent me a picture,” I admitted. “She wanted me to see how lovely the two of you looked.”

“Of you!”

I looked up at him and noticed his eyes were dark with anger. I felt a shiver run through me at the sight of him and had to swallow hard to push down the lump in my throat.

“I’ll have a talk with her about that,” he said.

“He muttered, ‘But it wasn’t a date.’”

I nodded, wanting to believe him.

He stepped closer to the bed. “Are you still feeling sick?” he asked.

I nodded.

I was feeling sick, but it wasn’t because I had eaten something bad.

“I’ll get you some tea then,” he said. Before I could say anything, he was already out of the room. I sighed and leaned my head against my pillow, hoping to feel better soon.

Gavin walked back into the room a little later, holding a mug of tea. It was made just the way I liked it. I was surprised he remembered such little details about me. I felt a mix of frustration and hurt, but the warm tea helped a bit.

I thanked him as I took a sip, feeling grateful for his thoughtfulness.

I sat quietly, sipping tea while he watched me. We didn’t say a word for the rest of the night. I honestly didn’t expect him to stay, but he did.

He slept next to me as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

When I woke up the next morning, the bed was empty. However, I could hear the shower running in the bathroom. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding. He was still there, taking a shower.

I started to feel a little lighter knowing that he came to me right after his date and spent the night with me, thinking I was sick. He made me tea and was careful about my needs last night. He didn’t try to have sex.

I picked up my phone and noticed that Nan had called me. She also sent a text. I frowned, curious about what could be so urgent that she needed to reach me. Maybe he really did care about me after all.

I woke up early this morning to a message from Nan. As I opened the text, I felt a heavy weight in my chest.

Nan wrote: “Whatever you do, don’t open the internet today! Please!!”

Her words made me anxious. I could sense something was wrong.

I felt a tightness in my chest and knew I had to find out what she was talking about. Without wasting any time, I rushed to the internet. The news headline jumped out at me, big and bold, and it made that sick feeling in my stomach come back.

Skyla Sinclare Spotted with New Boyfriend, Gavin Landry!

I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and before I knew it, they were spilling down my cheeks. I quickly clicked on the caption, which led me to the article. That was when I saw the news.

Gavin and Skyla were sharing a kiss in the photo!