He Wanted an Open Relationship, So I Accepted Another Proposal Chapter 09

He Wanted an Open Relationship, So I Accepted Another Proposal Chapter 09

When I woke the next morning, daylight had already spilled through the sheer curtains.

I tried to move, but my ankle still hurt.

Before I could struggle upright, Adrian heard me and walked into the bedroom.

He bent down and lifted me.

“Wash up first.”

I felt a little embarrassed, but I let him carry me without fighting.

At first, his thoughtfulness made me uncomfortable, but soon, I got used to it.

When I brushed my teeth, he handed me a toothbrush with toothpaste already on it.

At breakfast, the table was filled with my favorites.

Shrimp toast, cinnamon rolls, and a bowl of soft chicken-and-rice soup.

During my recovery, I took leave from school.

Adrian was close to graduation, so he didn’t need to go to campus often.

He stayed by my side almost every day.

We curled up in his apartment.

He rewatched old, cheesy movies with me.

He let me lean against him in whatever position felt best.

When we played games, I was terrible.

He never got annoyed.

He would only smile when I got furious.

Then he took the controller and cleared the level for me.

We still argued over movie endings and game characters, but even when we butted heads, it felt different

now.

Even our arguments felt sweet somehow.

After a fight, I handed him a grape.

He took it and wiped the juice from the corner of my mouth.

The air carried his cool cedar scent, quiet, steady, and strangely comforting.

I suddenly realized I hadn’t laughed like this in a long time.

Our feelings warmed in those tiny arguments.

He no longer kept the same careful distance.

He would ruffle my hair naturally.

He tucked me in when I fell asleep.

He kissed me gently in the morning and at night.

That restrained intimacy made my heart race more than any wild promise could.

My phone rang sometimes.

It was our mutual friends calling.

“Harper, where are you? Grant’s looking everywhere for you.”

“Are you two fighting again?”

“Grant and that popular girl are obviously just a fling. You’re the one he really loves. Stop torturing him.”

I hung up blankly.

After that, I didn’t even answer.

Adrian sat in the armchair beside me and ignored all of it.

Only after I put my phone down did he move closer.

Then he naturally pulled me into his arms.

His chin rested lightly on top of my head.

“Don’t worry. If you don’t want them to find you, no one will. No one knows about this apartment.”

I nodded and rubbed my cheek against his soft cotton T-shirt.

I soaked up that reassuring warmth.

Yes. I didn’t want to see Grant.

His name, and all those years of insecurity, should be sealed in the past.

The warmth holding me now was real, a future I could actually touch.