Self

Chapter 59

Looking up, Yara found Wade’s chin nearly touching her head and realized that without his arms supporting her, she would have been wrapped up in his arms.

Snapping back to reality. Yara hastily stepped back.

Wade cleared his throat, let go of her, and said, “High heels can be tricky. Flats are way better.”

Yara could not help but laugh, and it took her a moment to reply, “Thanks.”

Rainie, who had been waiting without a peep from anyone, heard the commotion and called out, confused, “Yara? Is that you?”

Yara peeked outside. “I’m off now, see you.”

“Okay.”

Wade, fists slightly clenched, began his ascent up the stairs, the chatter from below still within earshot.

“Why are you just getting here?”

“Ran into a bit of trouble.”

“Did you bump into Wade?”

Rainie knew Wade lived around there but did not know they were neighbors.

Yara just made a noise in acknowledgment.

She looked straightforward, and Rainie, not one to pry, quickly switched topics to where they should grab a bite, settling on a Thai place.

While eating, Rainie vented about her recent dating woes. “They’re all so arrogant, heads so high in the clouds. Why doesn’t someone just knock some sense into these do–nothing trust fund kids?”

It was well–known that she loved flirting with different young men, and her sudden plunge into the dating scene for marriage had everyone watching for a laugh,

The guests who showed up under duress were a sight to behold, each with a scowl. They basically requested that she keep a low profile and take care of their home if they ever married.

Rainie could not help but laugh in frustration. Did those blockheads, with no talent to speak of, really think everyone was content to drift through life like they did?

“So, in a burst of rage, I aired all their dirty laundry,” Rainie said. They all ran in the same circles, and she knew their business very well.

Yara was not surprised, knowing Rainie had always been a live wire. “That explains why the gossip. columns have been on fire lately.”

Whether it was someone’s affair hitting the headlines or a family getting busted for tax fraud, even Yara, buried in her studies, could not help but catch wind of it.

“Who do they have to blame but themselves for not acting right?” Rainie mused, then sighed.

“We’re pretty high up in the social ladder, and I’ve got an older brother. And yet, here I am, getting the marriage talk from my parents every single day. It’s beyond annoying.

“But enough about me. You wouldn’t know this, but my aunt’s been wringing her hands over my cousin’s bachelor status, constantly scheming to get him hitched.”

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Yara paused. Wade? Him? Pressured to get married?

That was a tough scene to picture.

“But he’s almost never home, so my aunt hardly gets a chance to meddle.” Rainie shrugged.

“Now, I’m curious about who my cousin, who’s never been in love and seems like he’s on another plane of existence, will end up bringing home as his wife.”

Out of nowhere, Yara’s thoughts drifted back to that moment in the hallway.

He seemed distant, but he was not above it all, He was thoughtful, attentive, and warm.

Whoever he would fall for would have to be someone pretty special, right?

Time flew by in a flash.

Before they knew it, December had rolled around.

With it, the graduate entrance exams had arrived right on schedule.

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