The morning sun casts its ray, making my eyes flicker. I wake up, immediately greeted by the warm sunlight coming into my room through my windows.

My eyes fall on the girl snuggling next to me. Nevaeh. She's still sleeping soundly.

A smile touches my lips. I gaze at her peaceful sleeping face, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She looks so beautiful even when she's sleeping.

We were watching movies until late at night, so she definitely needs more time to rest. I don't want to wake her up just yet.

It seems impossible that I was struggling to sleep last night. I remember dozing off while she was in my arms.

Fuck. I feel like I can gaze at her forever.

Watching her sleep like this brings so much peace and calmness to me that I don't even know how to explain it.

While her eyes are still closed, Nevaeh's brows suddenly furrow. Her eyelids flicker, and she slowly opens her eyes. My heart thumps as I stare into those pretty blue skies.

But then, those eyes widen in shock.

Nevaeh abruptly sits up on my bed, and I immediately do too. My heart is racing.

"Oh my God, what time is it?" Nevaeh snaps her head toward the clock hanging on the wall.

It shows midday, and her jaw drops. I gawk at the clock.

Wait, what? It's fucking midday already? Why the fuck did I not notice that?

Clearly, it was something that didn't cross my mind for the past few minutes.

"Oh my God." Nevaeh quickly gets out of my bed, almost stumbling. "I'm late for my class."

Fuck. I'm late for work.

Nevaeh rushes out of my room, I follow her like a lost puppy. My body reacts faster than my brain.

When Nevaeh and I pass the dining room, we both stop in our tracks. There on the dining table lie so many dishes.

My mouth drops open as I stare at all the food. I've never seen a dining table so full with a lot of appetizers, main courses, and desserts.

Ian is humming happily. He's placing more plates on the table that I wonder how the heck it's going to fit. Ashton and Sam are already settled on the dining table, sipping their coffee.

"What is this all about?" I ask.

Ian looks up, and his face brightens even more the moment he sees us. "It's a celebration. Come. Have a seat, both of you."

I'm at a loss for words.

My gaze darts to the clock. "I'm late." It's the only thing I can say.

Ashton puts his cup of coffee back on the table with a loud thud and smirks proudly. "Don't worry. I've canceled all your appointments today. Everything in the office is settled."

What?

Did he just say that he canceled all my schedules? Without my permission?

"Come on, boss," Sam chirps in, looking just as happy as Ian and Ashton. His grin is from ear to ear. "Ian has cooked so many dishes. It would be a waste if we didn't eat them all."

I freeze, still trying to swallow what's happening. If Ashton has indeed settled everything in the office, and since Ian has cooked all of these dishes, maybe I really should consider staying home.

Besides, another day with Nevaeh sounds better than joining some boring meetings.

Ian looks at me with a hopeful expression, and I sigh.

I turn to Nevaeh. "Well, Nevaeh, are you hungry--"

I notice that her face is red. She looks away. She seems embarrassed that the other people in my house know about what's happening between us.

Before I can do something about it, she totters toward her bedroom. "I'm sorry. I have to go to college. I can't skip the class."

That makes my jaw drop.

"Ouch," I hear Sam echo.

I look around the shelves, walking along the corridor of my campus library and trying to get my mind off what happened this morning.

I can't believe that I woke up in Aiden's bed. That's the first time I slept with a man.

Oh, God, now that sounds so wrong.

My cheeks heat up every time I remember that the entire house now knows about what's happening between us. The way Ian, Ashton, and Sam greeted Aiden and me this morning makes me want to bury myself. How am I going to face them again?

Did they know that Aiden and I...

I can't even finish my sentence.

I sigh, leaning back against the shelf and scanning the book titles in front of me. I don't know what I've been doing here. The books I'm looking at are unrelated to my project assignment.

My eyes dart to many books about indigenous languages in Asia. I see a book about regional dialects in Thailand, another book about Sanskrit, and another one about the Javanese language. How the hell did I end up in this section?

My phone buzzes, and I see a message from Aiden.

I can feel my heartbeat change the moment I read his text. I can't believe that such a simple thing like this can affect me this much. Why am I feeling excited just by hearing from him? We see each other every day.

I bite my lower lip, contemplating whether I should go home now or not. Maybe Aiden's library has the book I'm looking for. Maybe he can teach me again how to do my assignment.

I quickly shake my head in denial, shutting my eyes.

No, Nevaeh. You're just trying to find an excuse to spend time with him, aren't you? For God's sake, Nevaeh, you just saw him this morning. Can't you just wait for a few more hours?

I shove my phone back into my pocket. My heart has never felt so many mixed-up emotions like this, and I wonder if Aiden is feeling the same way.

His therapist's words suddenly echo in my ears again, reminding me of the seventh feeling.

"After Aiden is ready to admit his feelings, to act on them, he will succumb to the truth. Whatever it is that only his heart knows, including love, if that's what he really feels."

My heart skips a beat. Love is a big word. I don't think that Aiden is ready for that. I'm not ready either. The thought of being loved by Aiden is too overwhelming.

"He will have opened up and shown more vulnerable sides of him." I also remember those words from Mr. Bennett.

Yet, the word 'succumb' is still rather complex to me. Can Aiden really love again and admit it from the bottom of his heart? Moreover, for a girl like me?

The more I think about that, the more I doubt that Mr. Bennett was right.

I shut my eyes, wishing that I wasn't thinking about this too much. Just when I'm about to head out of this section, someone emerges at the end of the corridor.

My eyes widen.

Aiden?

*