(Author’s POV)

"Let’s go. I’ll tell you about it on the way," Fabian said as he cleverly extended his hand, donning a charismatic smile, "Miss, shall we?"

Myra paused for a teeny tiny second, her eyes fluttering as Nora’s words streamed through her mind, ’Do you have romantic feelings towards Prof. Stephens?’ Her inner thoughts instantly lit up, ’Why did Nora ask something like that? Yelena said something similar as well. Does it look like that to others?’

"My~ra~ .... Myra??" Fabian tapped her forehead lightly, affectionately. She snapped out of it as he added, "Why do you seem so dazed? Something troubling you? Tell me. You know, I’m a good listener."

"Umhmm~ ..." Myra quickly shook her head and denied, "~ ...Nothing like that."

He shrugged, "Okay then~ ..." He extended his hand once again, but this time he gave a plausible explanation, "My car is parked at some distance. And I don’t want you to lose your balance and stumble upon some rock or pebble~ .... So, for safety reasons, you see."

Myra observed his neutral facial expression for a fraction of a second. She then smacked her forehead internally, ’Ohhhh gosh, this brain of mine. I am just thinking too much. Fabian~ ... he is behaving like his normal, usual self. And I~ .... *huffff* What is even going through my head? There is no romantic tension between us; there is no way. It is all because of those weird things they keep on asking. Yeah~ ... that’s it. Let’s not dwell on it, Myra and make him feel awkward by my absurdness, now." She placed her right hand gracefully on his and muttered, "Let’s get going then," giving him a curt smile of her own.

Though his expression didn’t change in the least, Fabian’s heart was pounding intensely with anticipation of what was to come. With each passing second, his optimism, his confidence skyrocketed.

He secured her hand in his, mentally vowing never to let it go. He then started walking at a pace that matched hers perfectly. If anyone sees them right this instant, they would take them as a couple, deeply in love.

They reached his car, and like a true gentleman, he opened the passenger door and helped her settle inside. He took the wheel and said, looking straight into Myra’s hazels, "Myra~ ...."

"Hmmm," she hummed, gazing back. "You know~ .... today is going to be the best day of my life."

"Huhh, and why’s that?" Myra was a little confused. Fabian chuckled and fastened his seat belt, "I just have this feeling." Then, without adding anything else, the vehicle zoomed off.

After getting out of the Red Stone vicinity, he started to make small talk, "Ummm~ .... soooo~ ... last night, did you sleep~ ... well?"

"Ummhmm~ .... I certainly did," she answered honestly. After a long, long time, she slept like a log despite the earlier chaos. Otherwise, all this while, in the hospital, her nights, her sleep was filled with either a past memory of Amy or some nightmare.

"I called you last night to check, but it was switched off~ ...." he spoke, but was cut off by her.

"Ohhh, sorry~ ... Wendy took my phone away and turned it off. She didn’t want me to watch the video or read any comments on it," her reply came out in a lot more casual than expected, as if she weren’t involved in the matter at all.

Fabian nodded. Getting the hint, he swiftly changed the topic, "Your girls had a pyjama party. How did it go? And, did you~ .... did you like my present?"

"It was fun. We talked all night, ate spicy ramen, and danced till late. All in all, we all had a blast. As for the presents, I haven’t had the chance to unwrap any of them yet," she said and subconsciously touched the bracelet on her wrist.

Fabian’s eyes followed her movement, his brows furrowed a little, "Uhhh~ ... this bracelet~ .... is it new? I have never seen you wear this before."

"Ahhh~ ... this~ ..." Myra raised her left hand to show the purple beaded strand, her eyes lit up the moment he asked. "Sara~ ... I mean, Mrs. Everests gave it to me as a present. She said it was a protective band. She told me not to take it off at all. Doesn’t this look lovely?" She showed it off proudly, with a rare zing in her voice.

Fabian’s grip tightened when he heard Myra’s words; his eyes, now fixated on the road, turned a bit cold. He couldn’t help but say, "It looks really nice, but~ ... are you sure this works as a protective charm? No~ .... what I mean is that, it looks like a high-end, amethyst-made jewellery piece. But~ ... as for the protective charm thing, I don’t think it is~ ...." he didn’t get a chance to complete his sentence when Myra interrupted, "It is totally authentic. I can vouch for that. Sara gave it to me after all. She wouldn’t lie about such a thing." She then added in her mind, ’Although she did lie once, I know she wouldn’t do it again. She has always been sincere to me.’

He pursed his lips, seeing Myra defend Sara so ferociously. He spoke, in his usual manner, "If you say it is, then it is." He was about to say something when Myra’s phone started to chime.

Myra looked at it and answered, "Hello~ .... Amy??"

There was silence from the other end. Then, after a while, Amy finally spoke, "Hello, Myra. I heard you have been discharged. Did you recover well?" Her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah, I did. But~ ... why didn’t you, why didn’t you visit after that day?" Myra asked. She had been waiting for Amy to come and visit her again, but neither Amy nor Sebastian came. She wanted to ask about those weird dreams. She wanted to confirm whether what she was seeing was real or just her imagination. But above all, she wanted to talk to Amy.

"Did you wanted me to come?" Amy’s voice lit up as she questioned. The reason for her absence was that she didn’t want to make Myra uncomfortable. She had already let out what she wanted to tell her. She just wanted to give Myra some space and time to process.

"I was waiting," Myra replied honestly. "Why don’t we meet sometime later?" She suggested.

Amy was thrilled to hear that. Her eyes moistened a bit, her voice came out choked, "Sure~ .... You can tell me when you are free. We can definitely meet." The happiness, the joy in her voice, was evident.

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .