Ethan lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a small smile on his lips. He turned to his side, then onto his back again, feeling restless. It wasn’t the usual kind of restlessness that came with his insomnia—it was different this time. His mind kept replaying Mia’s words.
"Then I’ll visit more often."
He chuckled to himself, running a hand through his hair. It was ridiculous how much those simple words made his chest feel warm. For so long, he had been alone in this house, pretending it didn’t bother him. But now, Mia was showing up unexpectedly, sitting across from him at the dinner table, teasing him, worrying about him.
And the craziest part? He liked it.
His phone vibrated on the nightstand, and for a second, he thought it might be her. But when he grabbed it, it was just a notification from work. He sighed and put it back, rolling onto his stomach.
"If you ever feel lonely, you can call me or something."
Ethan shook his head, amused. Would she actually pick up if I did? he wondered. He had spent months trying to push down his feelings for her, but lately, they were resurfacing no matter how much he tried to bury them.
As he finally forced his eyes shut, one thought echoed in his mind—Mia is going to be the death of me.
Ethan stared at the message on his phone, unable to stop the small smile that crept onto his face. He quickly typed back,
"Hi. Busy at school?"
A few seconds later, his phone buzzed again.
"A little. But I got bored, so I thought of disturbing you. Are you busy?"
Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temple. He had a ton of work to do, but suddenly, it didn’t feel as stressful.
"A little. But I don’t mind the distraction."
Mia responded with a laughing emoji, followed by,
"Good. Then I’ll text you again in 5 minutes."
Ethan sighed, still smiling, and placed his phone on the desk. His secretary walked in, handing him some documents, and he quickly straightened up, pushing aside the thoughts of Mia—at least for now.
But in the back of his mind, he knew the truth. She was the first person who had ever made him feel like work wasn’t his entire life. And that realization terrified him just as much as it excited him.
Ethan glanced at his phone, waiting for the message that never came. Five minutes turned into ten, then fifteen. He frowned, wondering if something had happened.
"Maybe she got caught up with something," he muttered to himself, trying to focus on his work. But no matter how much he tried, his mind kept drifting back to Mia.
After an hour, he finally gave in and texted her first.
"Hey, you okay? You said five minutes, and it's been an hour."
He waited, but there was no response. His chest tightened slightly. He didn't want to seem too concerned, but deep down, he was.
Just then, his secretary knocked and entered his office. "Sir, someone is here to see you."
Ethan looked up. "Who?"
The door opened, and to his surprise, Mia walked in. She looked fine—no signs of distress—but there was something different about her expression. It was as if she had been deep in thought about something serious.
"You didn’t text back," Ethan said, watching her closely.
Mia smiled faintly. "I figured talking in person would be better."
Ethan raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. "Is something wrong?"
She hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "No… I just wanted to see you."
Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that answer.
"Are you free?" she asked. "Can we go somewhere?"
Ethan studied her for a moment before nodding. "Yeah. Let’s go."
As he grabbed his coat and followed her out, he couldn’t help but wonder—what was on Mia's mind?
Ethan sat in his office, staring at the message on his phone.
"Hi, just thought of saying hi." —Mia.
He smiled softly, the kind of smile that made his eyes crinkle. But five minutes passed, then ten, and she didn’t text back. He thought about replying, just something simple — "Hey, glad you did." But instead, he just stared at her message, rereading it over and over again like it was the most comforting thing he’d seen all day.
He eventually typed, "You made my day better." But he didn’t send it. He deleted it, then dropped the phone on the desk and leaned back, running his fingers through his hair.
Just then, his nanny entered with a cup of coffee. “Still thinking about her?” she asked gently.
Ethan looked up, a little caught off guard, but he didn’t deny it. “Yeah… I guess I am.”
“She’s different now, isn’t she?” the nanny said, setting the cup beside him. “I’ve seen how she looks at you. She’s starting to see the real you.”
Ethan sighed, looking down at his phone again. “I just don’t want to hope.”
---
Meanwhile, Mia sat at her desk, phone in hand.
She’d been staring at Ethan’s message thread for a while. Her heart wanted to say more — that she missed talking to him, that she felt better with him, that maybe she was starting to like him in ways she didn’t expect. But her fingers froze every time she tried.
Then, finally, she whispered to herself, “You’re such a coward, Mia.”
She typed again:
"Do you want to have dinner together sometime this week?"
She hesitated for a few seconds, then hit send.