Chapter 6

I jolted awake from the dream, drenched in cold sweat.

Outside, the sky was already light.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time—7:30.

"Shit," I blurted out.

I shot up, my head spinning. I grabbed the wall to steady myself, threw on whatever was handy, and bolted for the kitchen.

As I rushed through the living room, I saw Felix already sitting at the dining table.

Breakfast was already set out for him.

"Sorry," I panted, "I overslept."

He didn't say a word, just stared at me.

I kept my head down and headed for the kitchen.

"Stop," he said.

I stopped.

"Look up," he said.

I looked up.

His eyes lingered on my face, then slowly traveled down, sizing me up from head to toe.

"What's with your face? You look awful," Felix said.

I suddenly got panicked.

"Didn't get much sleep," I muttered.

"What kept you up?" he pressed.

"Guess I'm not used to sleeping somewhere new," I replied.

He stared at me, like he was trying to figure out if I was lying.

After a long pause, he said, "Go fry up two more eggs."

I nodded and headed into the kitchen.

While I was making breakfast, I had to brace myself against the stove, catching my breath over and over.

My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the knife.

I told myself: Sophie, hold on. Just one month.

When I finished frying the eggs and brought them out, Felix was already checking his phone.

I set the plate down in front of him.

He didn't even look up. "Why are you just standing there? Waiting for me to feed you?"

I didn't get it.

Felix looked up at me, a smirk on his face. "You haven't eaten either, right? Sit down. We'll eat together."

Sophie blinked, caught off guard. 'Did he just ask me to eat with him?'

"No, really, I'll just eat later—" I tried to protest.

"Sit down," Felix interrupted, not taking no for an answer.

I ended up sitting across from him.

Felix kept his eyes on his phone, while I watched him instead. Neither of us said a word.

The table was quiet, the only sound coming from him swiping on his phone every now and then.

"Eat," he said, still not looking up. "You think you'll get full just staring at me?"

I lowered my head, picked up my fork, and put a small piece of egg in my mouth.

I couldn't swallow a bite.

My stomach was in knots, and waves of nausea kept hitting me.

I forced the bite down, then gulped water, trying to keep it together.

"Doesn't taste good?" Felix asked.

I looked up and saw him watching me.

"No, it's good," I said.

"Then why aren't you eating?" Felix asked.

"I did," I replied.

"You only took one bite," he pointed out.

I opened my mouth, but the words just wouldn't come. I had no clue how to explain.

Felix put his phone down, leaned back in his chair, and his eyes fixed on me.

"Sophie," Felix said, his tone a little off, "are you hiding something from me?"

My heart gave a jolt.

"What is it?" I asked.

"For example—" he locked eyes with me, "why are you like this now?"

I lowered my gaze.

"Didn't I already say? I'm out of money," I said.

"How did you end up broke?" Felix pressed. "You were loaded back then. Even if you didn't work for years, you shouldn't be this broke."

I tightened my grip on the fork.

"I lost it all in some investments," I said.

"What kind of investments?" Felix asked.

"Stocks," I said.

He was quiet for a moment.

Then he said, "Sophie, when you lie, your right eye blinks."

I looked up sharply.

He was staring at me, and there was something in his eyes I just couldn't read.

"You just said two things to me," Felix said slowly. "First, you said you didn't sleep well. Then you said you lost your money in investments. Both times, your right eye twitched."

My heart skipped a beat.

"You're remembering it wrong," I said. "I don't have that habit."

"I'm not wrong," Felix said, standing up and leaning in close. "You told me before—when you were a kid, your uncle scammed you for money. When you signed the papers, your right eye wouldn't stop twitching. Later, you realized it was just something you did when you got nervous."

I froze.

Did I ever say that?

It seemed... I had.

It was about six months after we got together. One night, he asked why I had so much money but still acted like I was always on edge.

I'd had a bit to drink and just started rambling about my childhood.

After my parents died, my uncles carved up everything that was supposed to be mine, tricked me into signing stuff, and said things like, "What does a girl need all that money for anyway?"

When I finished, he hugged me tight and said, "Sophie, from now on, I'll protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."

Now Felix was right in front of me, throwing my own secret back at me to expose my lies.

"So," he leaned in, fixing me with that stare, "what are you hiding from me?"

I stared at him, my mind racing.

No way! I couldn't tell him.

Absolutely not.

"Felix," I heard myself say, "aren't you overthinking it? I just didn't sleep well, and I just had an investment fail. What else do you want to hear? Do you want to hear me say I have a terminal illness and I'm about to die?"

He froze for a second.