CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE: REALIZING MY LOVE FOR SAMUEL
Daniel's words lingered in the air longer than they should have."All our set boys know that Samuel had liked her since he entered the school."
The sentence struck me like a soft slap — not painful, but sharp enough to send tiny ripples through my chest. The corridor suddenly felt warmer, the voices of students louder and more chaotic, and the floor beneath my feet oddly unsteady.
Samuel and Gift?So everyone knew?Everyone except me?
I swallowed hard, pretending it didn't matter — even though it clearly, shamelessly did.
We walked into the classroom. Daniel drifted off towards his seat at the far end of the room where he sat with Gift, their desk tucked neatly into the last row. I walked to the other end, to my seat beside Samuel. My chair felt colder than usual, as if someone had shifted its position or as if my own body suddenly didn't recognise it.
I placed my bag gently on the table, trying to steady the twist in my stomach.
Gift bounced into the classroom a few moments later, cheerful as always. She was still laughing at something Daniel had whispered to her. She moved to sit beside him but paused when her eyes met mine.
"Are you okay?" she asked, too casually.
I forced a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."
She didn't dig deeper. She simply nodded and slid into her chair beside Daniel, the sound of the metal legs scraping against the concrete floor echoing through the room. She began humming one of her usual melodies, the type that suggested she had absolutely nothing troubling her mind.
I wish I could say the same.
A few seconds later, Samuel walked in. His friends peeled off in different directions towards their seats, leaving him strolling behind with that relaxed confidence he carried effortlessly. He ran a palm through his hair, laughing lightly at something one of the boys called out.
Then his eyes found mine.
It lasted less than a second, yet it managed to unsettle everything inside me all over again.
He walked straight to our desk — our shared desk — stopping right in front of me like he had been waiting for me alone.
"You left the dining hall too early," he said quietly, lowering his voice. "You didn't look… happy."
My chest tightened. I was surprised he even noticed. "I just felt like coming to class early."
"You sure?" he pressed, leaning ever so slightly closer.
The closeness did something strange to my heartbeat — the kind that jumps straight to your throat.
"I'm fine," I replied, praying my face wasn't betraying anything.
He stared for a moment longer, then nodded. "Okay. Just making sure."
Before another word passed between us, Gift called his name from across the class. He turned instinctively, answering with a familiar smile — one that looked too easy, too natural. The kind you give someone you've spent a long time with.
And just like that, something sank inside me.
Not painfully.
Just quietly… like a feather falling into water.
Daniel's voice replayed in my head: Samuel had liked her since he entered the school…
I didn't want to care.But I did.Far more than I wished to admit.
The bell rang for prep, and the classroom shifted into a softer, studious hum. Books opened. Chairs shifted. Pens clicked. Silence settled.
But my mind refused to settle with it.
I opened my notes, staring at the words without absorbing a single one. My eyes kept drifting toward the last row where Daniel and Gift sat. Daniel pointed at something in his book, leaning closer to Gift. She laughed, tapping his arm lightly.
Samuel noticed my distraction.
"You're not reading," he murmured without looking directly at me.
I straightened immediately. "I am."
"You're holding the book upside down," he said, suppressing a smile.
I blinked down.He wasn't lying.I flipped it quickly, cheeks heating.
"Rough day?" he asked, a little softer.
"No. I'm fine."
He didn't push further — maybe he sensed I wasn't ready to talk. Still, something in the way he looked at me, even briefly, made it difficult to breathe normally.
Minutes trickled by painfully slowly.
Daniel nudged Gift and whispered something that made her glance in my direction. She looked almost amused, and I knew she was trying not to smile too obviously.
Daniel leaned slightly forward from his seat at the back. "Floral," he whispered across the room, but quietly enough that only I caught it. "You're staring too much."
I shot him a glare. "Mind your business."
"But it's written all over your face," he whispered, smirking.
"What is?"
"That you like him."
I opened my mouth, ready to deny it, ready to argue, but nothing solid formed.
Daniel simply lifted his brows knowingly. "It's fine. You don't have to say anything."
"Daniel," I hissed.
"Alright, alright." He raised his hands theatrically, as if surrendering, but his grin remained annoyingly amused.
I looked away, refusing to let him distract me further. But the truth he hinted at lingered stubbornly.
Maybe I did like Samuel.Maybe I had liked him longer than I realised.
Prep dragged until finally the bell rang. Students began packing up quickly — bags zipped, chairs shifted, conversations swelled.
I was sliding my notes into my bag when Samuel approached me again.
"You forgot something earlier," he said.
I looked up just as he brought out a small chocolate sweet from his pocket — wrapped neatly, clearly untouched.
"I got this during break," he continued, rubbing the back of his neck in a shy, almost boyish way. "I just… felt like giving you."
I stared at it, stunned. "But I didn't ask—"
"You don't need to." He shrugged. "Just take it."
A soft warmth spread across my chest — gentle, unexpected, and far too easy to feel.
I collected it slowly. "Thank you."
He smiled — dimples deep and sincere — and for a moment my entire stomach turned into something unexplainably fluttery.
"See you tomorrow," he said before heading back to the last row.
The moment he reached Gift, she tapped his arm and said something that made him laugh. They exchanged a few words, comfortable and familiar.
And although it still stung a little, I found myself smiling faintly.
Because even if he liked her before…
Today he noticed me.Today he cared.Today he checked on me — twice.
For the first time since Daniel's unsettling revelation, the tightness in my chest loosened.
Not completely.Just enough.
Enough for the truth to whisper itself clearly:
I think I really like Samuel — more than I initially realised.