vanish into the bush between them, dissolving into the calm Maddox had wrapped around her.
Chapter 18
Josiah felt a deep frustration simmer in his chest when he realized that he no longer mattered to Priscilla. The feeling stuck with him all the way back to where he was staying
Even as he lay in bed, his mind kept drifting back to the encounter with Priscilla that evening. He sensed that there was something different about her, something that wasn’t there when she was with him.
He didn’t want to admit it, but Priscilla had changed. She was better, brighter, and more radiant. She stood out now and was impossible to ignore.
He thought about how he’d borrowed a stranger’s phone and made over a dozen calls to her that evening, not one of them going through. The memory left him even more agitated
Her name lingered in his mind all night. Even when he was with Brittany, his thoughts kept drifting back to Priscilla and to the man who had been with her. Brittany, too, was thinking about that man. She thought that he didn’t carry himself like an ordinary person. Compared to Josiah, he seemed even more refined. She couldn’t understand how someone she used to look down on now had someone better by her side than she did.
Josiah and Brittany were lost in thoughts of someone else, too distracted to notice how half–hearted and empty their time together was.
Meanwhile, across town, the air between two people whose feelings were aligned shimmered with soft, rose–colored warmth. Priscilla was a little shy, but Maddox was having none of it. He gently but firmly pulled her out of her shell, refusing to let her hide.
Later that night, back at her place, Priscilla suddenly realized that she had never actually told Maddox about the divorce. So how did he know?
Believing that it was better to talk things out than to overthink alone, Priscilla picked up her phone and called him directly.
““Celia, what’s wrong?” Maddox answered the call, clearly happy to hear from her
“I never told you I got divorced. How did you find out? Priscilla bluntly asked, skipping over any polite small talk
Maddux, who thought he’d gotten away with it, felt a flicker of guilt. He then said, “Cella, wait for me. I’m coming over.”
Priscilla didn’t just sit around while waiting. She quickly tidied up the room. After all, she wanted to make a good impression since they had just gotten tog
together.
It wasn’t long before she heard a knock at the door. She opened it, let Maddox in, then stood quietly, waiting for his explanation.
“I’m sorry, Celia. The first day I saw you here alone, I was worried. so I asked around. That’s when I heard from someone that you were divorced. “Please don’t be mad, okay?” he added, giving her a pitiful look and trying his best to act cute–a trick he’d just picked up online and hoped would work
“I’m not mad at you. It just suddenly crossed my mind. You low I just got divorced, and you.” She trailed off, looking at his exaggeratedly sad expression.
She hadn’t been angry to begin with–and now, as she saw how adorable he looked trying to act pitiful, she found herself even more charmed.
“I know you just got divorced, and I know that I’m talding advantage of your vulnerability. But like you too much,” Maddox Interrupted quickly, already sensing what she was about to say.
He couldn’t stand hearing Priscilla belittle herself. To him, she was the best there was.
“When it comes to love, I have nothing, and I know nothing. I wasn’t the first to arrive at your station, but you are my only one
“You’re the most important person in ny lite. No matter what kind of days you face, “Even if one day you look me in the eye and say that you don’t love me anymore, of that you don’t want me, that still won’t he
I’ll be right there with you. No matter where you go, I want to be by your Hearing Maddox’s confession once again, Priscilla was deeply moved by the sincerity of his feelings
the enough to make me walk away.”
side.
It was hard for anyone to stay calm when faced with a love that genuine. So, instead of blaming hip for prying into her past, Priscilla simply stepped forward and gently burged ham it was her way of telling him how she fell.
