The Arrangement Factor (ARRANGEMENT SERIES #1)

Chapter 42

Sarah's POV

Since the night he hugged me, every time I saw him, I would blush. I had no control over my feelings now.

He was now more relaxed and was not having any nightmares as the issue had been resolved to some extent.

The first day he came back after running out for breakfast, it was nighttime. I had just come out of the bathroom and changed into my nightdress when he returned from the office.

He pulled me into a hug and said, "Thank you so much, Sarah. If you had not shared what your professor taught you, I would have never been able to save the company and everyone with it. You are a lifesaver. You helped me not only with the idea but through the weeks of torture, making sure I ate on time, and you cared for me when I was sick." He then touched the dove locket he gifted me the other night.

"You brought me out of a dark place. You truly are my Little Dove. I owe you my everything. Actually, I owe you my life. I would do anything for you. Just tell me what you want, mon trésor?"

And that made me think, what did I actually want? I wanted him, but I couldn't tell him that. Can I?

"Just you eating properly, smiling more, and worrying less will do," I replied.

He hugged me tighter. "I can do that, but what do you really want, Sarah?"

I wanted him to love me, but I couldn't tell him that. I couldn't ruin what we had now just for my selfishness.

"I don't know. You've already given me so many things. I have everything I need, and there's nothing else I want."

"Okay, then I owe you. Whenever you figure out what you really want, I'll make sure to get it for you."

I already knew 'I want you.' Can I say that?? No!

"Okay," I nodded.

He went to the bathroom, and I stood there, still processing what he had just said. After our dinner date, I had time to think and decided that I would not hold myself back just because Alex didn't love me. I would be happy with whatever we could be. He cared for me and did these sweet things that made my heart jump. He had done so much for me that no one ever did.

If he couldn't love me, then I would not feel bad. At least he was with me, my husband, and that was all that I wanted. I would be content with whatever he could give me because he was already giving me more than I could ever imagine or ask for.

He came out of the shower with his hair still wet. I was sitting on my side of the bed, reading a book. In reality, I was lost in my thoughts and not reading anything.

He sat on his side of the bed and picked up his laptop to work, while I continued pretending to read, still lost in my thoughts. 

After a while, he kept his laptop aside, turned toward me, slipped under his covers, and lay facing me. I felt his gaze on me but didn't dare to look at him due to the thoughts in my mind. So, I pretended to be deeply engrossed in reading.

"Sarah," he said, his voice soft and hesitant.

"Hmm," I hummed, pretending to be engrossed in my book.

"I know you're not really reading," I looked at him in shock.

He chuckled. "You haven't turned the page for the last half-hour. Either you're not really reading your book, or there's something extremely interesting on that same page you've been reading for the past 30 minutes." He teased me, and I blushed, knowing that he was right.

"I was thinking about something," I said, embarrassed.

"What were you thinking?" he asked.

"You," I admitted without thinking. He looked at me with a strange emotion in his eyes.