Catherine's POV,
What the hell just happened?
I stumbled back, almost tripping over the stupid chair behind me. "No. No—this is… this is insane." My voice cracked, too sharp, too raw.
Elai just stood there. Silent. Watching me like she'd just won a war, I didn't even know I was fighting.
I pressed my palm against my mouth, as if I could erase it. As if I could erase her."I shouldn't have—fuck." My hands were shaking. "This didn't happen, do you understand? It was a mistake. A complete, goddamn mistake."
Her eyes softened. That made it worse. That made me want to scream.
"Don't look at me like that!" I snapped, hating how my voice trembled. "You don't get to— you don't get to just walk into my life, kiss me, and expect me to—" My throat closed up. The words refused to come out.
Because the truth was sitting there in my chest, heavy, suffocating.
I kissed her back.
And I liked it.
No. No. No. I couldn't. I wouldn't.
I turned away before she could see the panic crawling all over my face. "Forget this. Forget me. Forget everything."
But her taste was still on my lips. And that was something I knew I could never forget.
I sat on the farthest corner of the room, hugging my knees. My head won't shut up. My chest won't calm down.
Across from me, she was quiet. Too quiet. No smirks. No stupid comments. Just silence.
I hated it.I hated that I wanted her to say something.
Time dragged. My eyes burned from trying not to fall asleep when—
Clang.
The door rattled.
"Shit—this one's stuck. Grab the keys!" someone yelled outside.
I flinched. Looked at her. She lifted her head, eyes meeting mine for barely a second before she looked away again.
The lock clicked. The door opened, light hitting my face.
"You two got stuck here? Why didn't you call?" one of the workers laughed.
I stood up too fast, almost losing balance. "It's fine. I'm fine." My voice came out sharper than I wanted.
She didn't move right away. Just nodded at them, muttered a low "thanks," and walked past me.
She didn't look back.
That… hurt more than I wanted to admit.
I didn't sleep. Not even for a second. My body feels heavy, my head is pounding, and yet all I can think about is last night. Her lips. My lips. The way I didn't push her away. The way I kissed her back.
I hate myself.
I got up, washed my face, threw on the first shirt I saw. Didn't even care to fix my hair. Who cares anyway?
The site was already alive when I got there. Workers walking around, machines moving, voices everywhere. Normal. Everything looked normal. Except me. I didn't feel normal.
And then I saw her.
By the trucks. Talking to one of the supervisors like nothing happened. Like she didn't touch me. Like she didn't make my whole world stop last night.
My chest tightened.
She looked at me. I swear she did. Our eyes almost met—almost.
I immediately looked away. Pretended I didn't see her. Pretended I didn't care.
"Doctor Lavander, this way please," one of the engineers said. I followed. Kept my eyes straight. Didn't look back.
But I could feel it. Her eyes. Following me. Burning into me.
I clenched my fists.
Not today.
The whole morning felt wrong.
I walked around the site, checked the plans, talked to people—everything I was supposed to do. But my chest felt heavy. Something was off.
It was her.
She didn't look at me. Not once.
Every time I tried to catch her eyes, she turned away. Every time I moved closer, she found someone else to talk to. She walked past me like I was invisible.
Invisible.
God, it hurt more than it should.
I told myself this is good. That this is exactly what I wanted. That if she ignores me, then maybe I can forget what happened last night. Forget the way her lips felt. Forget how my knees almost gave in when I kissed her back.
But I can't.
I'm stuck replaying it in my head like some cruel punishment.
And now, with her avoiding me, I feel pathetic. Miserable.
What the hell, Catherine? Since when did you care about someone avoiding you?
I tightened my grip on the documents I was holding, pretending like they were the problem. But deep down, I knew the truth.
She wasn't avoiding me because she hated me. She was avoiding me because last night broke something.
And I was the one who shattered it.
I couldn't take another second of her walking past me like I didn't exist. Like I wasn't standing right there, drowning in everything we weren't saying.
"Elai."
Her shoulders tensed. She stopped mid-step but didn't turn around.
"Elai," I said again, louder this time.
Finally, she faced me. Expression calm, too calm, like she'd practiced hiding everything she felt.
"What do you want, Doctor Lavander?"
Doctor Lavander. Not Catherine. Like we were strangers.
My throat tightened. My chest burned.
"What the hell is this?" I stepped closer, gripping the nearest excuse for air. "You've been avoiding me all morning. Won't even look at me. Won't even—" My voice cracked. "After last night, you're just… what? Pretending nothing happened?"
Her jaw clenched. She looked away.
"That's exactly what I'm doing," she said flatly.
Her words cut me open.
I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. "You think that's fair? You kissed me, Elai. I—" I stopped, swallowing the rest before it escaped. Before I admitted too much.
Her eyes finally met mine, sharp and pained. "And you made it very clear it was a mistake."
Silence. Just the sound of the wind and my heartbeat crashing in my ears.
She turned to leave.
And I—I wanted to scream, to pull her back, to say everything I shouldn't.
But all I did was stand there, trembling, as she walked away.
To Be Continued...