Chapter 981:

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

“Kissing, of course.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, as though she were suggesting practice for an exam. “I’ve never done it before. What if I mess it up tomorrow and Toby laughs at me? You’re the person I trust most. You can help me practice.”

A flush crept up Kole’s ears, spreading quickly down the side of his neck. For a moment, he simply stayed crouched there, a seedling still in his hand, as if the world had stopped moving.

“This… this isn’t appropriate,” he said, his voice uneasy.

Carole placed her hands on her hips, impatience flashing through her expression. “What’s not appropriate? Are you refusing me?”

“No — no, that’s not it.” He shook his head quickly, nearly dropping the seedling. “I just think it doesn’t feel… right.”

“I say it’s fine, so it’s fine.” Her tone left no room for argument.

Before he could respond again, she stepped forward, placed both hands on his shoulders, and pushed.

Kole lost his balance and fell backward onto the ground, startled more than hurt. Before he could gather his thoughts, Carole leaned down over him.

𝘚𝘩𝗮r𝘦 yo𝗎𝘳 𝘧a𝘷𝗼𝗋i𝗍𝗲s 𝗳𝗿𝗈𝗺 g𝗮𝗅n𝗈𝗏𝖾𝘭𝗌.𝗰om

And then it happened. Her lips met his. Soft. Warm. Unexpectedly real.

For a brief moment, everything went still. A strange current — light, sharp, impossible to ignore — rushed through them both at the point of contact, spreading too quickly to name. Kole’s eyes widened in shock, fixed on hers at such close distance that there was nowhere to hide. Carole froze too. Only then did reality catch up to her.

As if burned, she pulled away abruptly, stumbling backward in haste. “I — I still have assignments. I need to go.”

She turned and nearly ran, almost tripping over the hem of her dress before disappearing from the greenhouse.

Silence returned. Kole remained where he had fallen, sitting among the disturbed soil and scattered seedlings. Slowly, almost absentmindedly, he raised a hand to his lips — and stayed like that for a long time, unmoving.

The following evening arrived quietly.

After school, Carole followed her usual habit and walked toward the greenhouse to look for Kole. He was already there, carefully replanting the flowers that had been crushed the day before.

Carole crouched beside him, picked up a small seedling, and tried to press it into the soil the way he did. After two attempts, it still wouldn’t go in properly.

Kole pressed his lips together and spoke in his usual calm tone, as if nothing unusual had happened. “Miss Davis, how was your day?” He paused briefly, then added, “Did you accept Mr. Willis’ confession?”

Carole shook her head.

For a brief moment, an unexpected sense of relief washed over Kole. The feeling startled him. He quickly tried to suppress it, silently scolding himself. What was he even doing? Was he actually relieved whenever things didn’t go well for Carole in that way?

Carole, meanwhile, continued speaking. “I planned to follow through on my idea today. I wanted to try kissing him first before deciding.”

She stopped for a moment, her voice losing its usual brightness. What remained carried a quiet confusion and frustration she couldn’t quite explain. “But when I got close to him, I suddenly felt uncomfortable. Like an instinctive rejection… even nausea.”

.

.

.