Love Unspoken

Walter harbored a desire to share the amusing incident with Alexander, but he held back, fearing it might only serve to infuriate his friend. The image of Alexander's stunned expression danced in his mind, and Walter found himself laughing

once more.

In a separate instance, Kyle found himself in a quandary over whether to show Alexander the photographs he had captured. However, recalling Alexander's recent temperament, he decided against it, opting to delete the images and feign ignorance. Unbeknownst to Kyle, the couple was in the midst of a divorce, and so he didn't give the matter much thought.

Upon Alexander's return home that evening, he was greeted by an empty house. However, a neatly folded outfit, the one Quinn had worn that day, lay on the bed. The sight of the clothes caused Alexander's brows to knit together in

consternation.

His phone buzzed, signaling a message from Quinn.

Quinn: [I took off the clothes, but I didn't wash them. You probably don't want them, right?]

Quinn: [I didn't leave my phone. I was worried you wouldn't be able to find me when signing the divorce papers. I'll give it back to you then.]

Alexander's gaze lingered on the string of messages, but as he scrolled up, he discovered earlier messages from her.

Quinn: [Want to grab dinner tonight?]

Quinn: [Where are you?]

Quinn: [What do you want to eat?]

Alexander, seated on the couch, chuckled at the messages. He lit a cigarette, leaned back, and smoked in silence, his gaze fixed on a nondescript spot in the room.

Before long, Kyle made his entrance, rushing in from the rain. He shook off the droplets at the doorstep and quickly made his way into the living room. Noticing the ashtray on the table, nearly overflowing with cigarette butts, he called out, "Alexander?"

Unruffled, Alexander responded in a calm tone, "Where is she?"

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"Uh, let me check." Kyle withdrew his phone and stepped aside to make a call.

Ever since Walter's incident, someone had been assigned to keep tabs on Quinn, but they were instructed not to report back unless a dangerous situation arose.

Receiving the report, Kyle's face turned grim. He glanced hesitantly at Alexander and began, "Alexander, Quinn's..."

"She's with another Alexander."

Alexander continued to smoke, his demeanor indifferent, as though the news was not unexpected.

As the minutes ticked by, Kyle found himself growing increasingly uncomfortable in the silence. Eventually, Alexander broke the quiet, asking, "Am I really holding on to her too tightly?"

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Kyle managed a forced smile, internally relieved that Alexander was finally beginning to understand, though he dared not voice this thought aloud. Instead, he offered, "You're just looking out for Quinn's best interest. She can't speak. If something happened out there, she wouldn't even be able to call for help."

"Plus, she's quite naive. Mixing with people out there, she could easily be deceived."

"More importantly, it would be easy for those with ulterior motives to use her to threaten you."

At this, Alexander let out a sardonic laugh, "Use her to threaten me?"

Sensing his tone was off, Kyle quickly added, "No one can threaten you..."

Had Kyle not witnessed Alexander's fearless leap off the cliff, he might have believed his friend's nonchalance. It seemed Alexander was under the impression that his concern for Quinn wasn't apparent to others.

In reality, his concern for Quinn was nearly palpable. But it was partly because Quinn had been acting out lately, pushing Alexander to reveal more of his true feelings.