Chapter 983:

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Carole stared at him in disbelief, completely exasperated by his stubborn silence. Then, without warning, she stepped forward and pressed her ear against his chest.

After a few seconds, she straightened up with a confident smile. “You’re lying. Your heart is beating fast — faster than mine. You definitely felt something. You liked it, didn’t you?”

Her bright eyes locked onto his, open and direct. “Kole,” she said seriously, “I can feel it. You’re different. When I kiss you, my heart races and my whole body feels strange… like it’s awake in a new way. I like that feeling. Is this what people call love?”

Kole’s tall frame trembled slightly. His lips parted, then closed again before he finally spoke in a low voice. “But how could you like me? I’m not good enough for you.”

Carole immediately frowned. “What do you mean, not good enough? I think you’re much better-looking than Toby. If you were at my school, you’d definitely be the most popular guy.”

Kole tried again. “But I —”

Carole cut him off at once. “Enough. Stop talking nonsense. I’ll ask you one thing only — do you want to date me?”

Before he could answer, she added quickly, almost as if afraid of hesitation. “I’ll give you one chance. If you say no, I’ll find someone else.”

“I do.” Kole said it immediately.

After the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize how quickly he had spoken and his face turned slightly red.

𝖳𝘩𝗲 b𝖾𝗌t r𝘦𝖺𝖽і𝗻g ex𝘱𝖾𝗋іe𝗻𝗰𝖾 o𝗇 ga𝗹novе𝗹ѕ.𝖼𝗈m

Carole felt her heart lift at his answer. But then Kole spoke again, his voice softer. “But please promise me something. If one day you grow tired of me, don’t send me away.”

He looked at her steadily, almost pleading. “Let me stay by your side as your bodyguard, and protect you. Is that okay?”

Carole rolled her eyes slightly. “You really are hopeless. Who talks about breaking up right after starting?”

Still, under his serious gaze, she sighed and nodded. “Fine. I promise.”

From that point on, Carole and Kole were fully, deeply in love.

With Kole serving as her personal bodyguard, they seized every opportunity to stay close, as though distance itself were the enemy. Restraint slowly slipped through their fingers. Whether it was the quiet woods tucked behind the school, the back seat of a car with the partition drawn, or some forgotten corner where no one paid attention, they were almost always side by side — their fingers intertwined, their arms wrapped around each other, their lips meeting again and again. They would kiss until their lips flushed and their breaths came uneven, then rest their foreheads together afterward, sharing soft laughter that lingered in the air.

Like any couple lost in love, they went on dates, sat through movies shoulder to shoulder, sampled street snacks under glowing night lights, and strolled through malls until the shops closed. They did everything lovers do — everything, except cross that final line. Kole would not agree to premarital intimacy.

And so their quiet, hidden romance stretched on — sweet and steady — for years.

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