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Part Six: A Bond Deepens
The following week, things began to shift for Annarosé. Between classes, projects, and library sessions, she found herself spending more and more time with Nick.
One afternoon, while working on their project, the power suddenly went out in the library. The room grew dim and quiet. Annarosé, startled, dropped her pen. Nick bent down quickly to pick it up, and for a brief moment their hands touched.
She looked up at him, her eyes meeting his in the faint glow of the emergency lights. Neither of them spoke, but the silence carried something unspoken, something warm.
Nick cleared his throat and handed her the pen. "Here," he said softly.
"Thanks," she replied, her cheeks warming.
From that day on, their conversations grew easier. Nick started opening up about little things—his love for sketching, the pressure of being the son of a wealthy businessman, and how he sometimes felt people liked him only for his last name.
Annarosé listened carefully, and unlike others, she never judged. She didn't care about Carter's Creation or his family's name. She cared about him.
"You're… different from what I expected," she said one evening, closing her notebook.
Nick raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"
"People say you're arrogant, but I don't see that. You're… real."
Her words struck him deeply. For the first time, someone saw beyond his name. He felt a warmth in his chest he hadn't known before.
But just as their friendship deepened, Ethan remained in the picture. He would show up with his easy smile, cracking jokes, pulling chairs beside Annarosé as though it was his right. He didn't confess anything yet—he was too clever for that. Instead, he simply tangled her slowly in his charm, letting her get used to his presence.
Nick noticed it every time. And though Annarosé laughed with Ethan at times, Nick could feel that she trusted him in a way she didn't trust anyone else. That trust was the beginning of something powerful—something Nick was only just realizing was love.
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