Chapter 138 Lost Track of Time
Jude stared at her message for a moment.
Then he texted, "Wait… are you wondering where I’m going?"
Tilda immediately regretted her action. She felt silly for even asking. It came off like she was annoyed he never mentioned his business trip to Lucien. Truth was, they were only friends–nothing beyond that. So why did she even send that message? It didn’t make any sense. And now it was sent; no way to undo it.
"It’s nothing, Mr. Bell," she typed. "Just chatting. Your trip to Lucien looked awesome; you even caught the aurora."
"Tilda, just call me Jude," he replied, a little seriously. "Don’t call me Mr. Bell, alright?"
Her finger shook slightly as she typed. After hesitating for a moment, she finally typed back, "Okay, Jude."
"Thanks, Tilda," he replied, with a cheeky smile emoji.
She was completely caught up in the chat with him until her phone suddenly buzzed.
"Tilda… seriously? Did you bail on me? You’ve been in the bathroom forever–like an hour!"
Tilda stared at her phone for a second, then noticed the time–9:30 p.m. already. Somehow, whenever she was chatting with Jude, the hours just slipped away. The whole day had vanished before she knew it.
She texted back to Una, "On my way!"
After that, she dropped Jude a quick note, "Sorry, Jude, my friend’s calling me."
As she scrolled back through their messages, she noticed how much they’d talked–just everyday stuff. The weather, little things that happened, nothing big. Still, she couldn’t figure out why she got so wrapped up in it. She’d totally lost track of time.
"Thanks, Tilda. I feel really good having you around," Jude texted.
"Same here," she typed back with a grin. "Guess us two unlucky Omegas better try to actually sleep tonight."
Almost right away, Jude replied, "We will. Because… you’re with me."
Tilda stared at the screen. She froze, unsure how to respond. His words felt way too flirty, and no matter what she wrote back, it wouldn’t feel right. She just wasn’t ready to take things further with Jude.
But… she could sense it. Things between them were changing bit by bit, and they were starting to get under each other’s skin. Before, Tilda would’ve freaked out. Jude was dangerous. His family was elite–the kind she always tried to avoid. Now though, she couldn’t push it back anymore. All she could do was let it play out, one step at a time, no matter where it went.
Then another message popped up.
"You’re the only one I’d ever choose.
"I choose you.
"I choose you again and again.
"No hesitation, no doubts, unswerving.
"I picked this up earlier in Rogrith, a small town in Lucien. Some guy was proposing to his girlfriend, and that’s what he said.
"It stuck with me, so I wanted to share it with you.
"No matter what the options are, my choice is always you."
Tilda pressed her lips together, totally blank on what to say back. So, she just dropped a facepalm emoji and backed out.
Yeah, maybe she chickened out–but what else was she supposed to do? Jude’s message came out of nowhere and hit way too hard. Ugh!
Time passed quickly, and before she knew it, the day came when she was supposed to meet DJ. At exactly 2 p.m., she walked into Cornerstone Café, just like they’d planned. The baristas welcomed her with friendly smiles and waited for her order. She scanned the menu for a few seconds.
“One latte, please,” she said.
She chose the same latte from her previous life. She loved the taste. Even though the café carried some rough memories, the coffee wasn’t to blame. Coffee was innocent. This time, she wasn’t going to mess anything up. She headed straight for the same window seat as last time, her chest steady, her mind at ease.
Taking slow sips of her latte, she looked out at the street. Sunshine poured over everything, and every passerby seemed to be smiling.