Chapter 184
“What do you want to watch, Xan
“Anything’s fine“.
As if granting a favor, Xanthea spared a piece of trout and placed it in his bowl. “Just nothing with Isabella in it. I can’t stand her
Cant stand her?
Orion glanced at the woman on the TV screen. Noticing his gaze lingering. Xanthea quickly snatched the remote and switched the channel “You don’t know, the used to mimic me all the time when we were little. She wanted to do everything just like me, it was like having a shadow, which drove me absolutely nuts
“Really?”
“Yep!” Xanthea nodded vigorously, eager to assure him since Isabella was one of his talents. She even held up two fingers as a vow “Cross my heart if you had been my classmate back at Crestwood Elementary, you would’ve known! Everyone there knew”
He knew.
Orion’s gaze dropped slightly, he never felt anyone could match her, not even one in ten thousand. A firefly’s glow could never compete
with the sun and the moon
“Hey, this looks good, it’s a movie. Let’s watch this one!”
Xanthea stopped at a film with a classic Hollywood vibe and set down the remote.
In the movie, the main characters were having dinner at a restaurant. Midway, the actress pulled out a gift box and slid it across the table to her co–star
Such a coincidence? She was also planning to give a gift–it was perfect timing!
Slyly, Xanthea pulled a small box from her pocket and, with a magician’s flair, circled it around Orion’s face before revealing it with a flourish “Ta–dal Onion, this is for you. Open it up and see!”
“A gift?
Opon eyed the elegant light brown box resting in her palm, feeling a surge of undefined emotions welling within him. “Why are you giving me a gift?
“No reason, just felt like it. Come on, open it up, see if you like it.”
“Alright”
He lifted the lid and inside a pair of sparkling blue and pink crystal cufflinks caught the light, drawing his gaze w
with anticipation
Seeing him freeze, Xanthea quickly waved her hands, “Don’t get the wrong idea, these aren’t meant to be couple’s cufflinks, they’re just regular cufflinks”
“This pair of hands?”
“It symbolizes fnendship, you know, hand in hand!”
“Friendship?”
Orion paused, then slowly looked up; his deep eyes flickered with uncertainty.
He knew he shouldn’t ask about it and shouldn’t even bring it up, but he couldn’t control the racing of his heart, hoping against hope for the answer he desired.
“Xan, do you consider me a good friend?”
“Of course!”
e as a friend?”
Xanthea saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes and frowned slightly. “What’s wrong? After all this time, don’t you think of me
“No, it’s not that.” He lowered his gaze; his thick lashes cast shadows on his cheeks. “Didn’t you used to hate me, Xan? if it weren’t for Realm of Elusions”
“What? I never hated you! Sure, there were some misunderstandings, and I got mad, but I never hated you. You don’t think I started looking after you just because you handed over Realm of illusions to me, do you?”
n they were kids? Xanthea cut him off, eager to clear the air. Mid–centence, she suddenly remembered, was he talking about when She remembered back when they were kids, one time he had approached her carefully with a doll, trying to make peace, but she had. thrown it to the ground and stamped on it, proclaiming she hated him and would never be friends with such a crazy kid!