Chapter 720

Joe nodded. "Maybe," he agreed. After a while, drowsiness settled over them both. A sudden ping—a notification on Joe's unsilenced phone—broke the quiet. He opened it to find a friend request from Vera on Instagram, sent through their high school classmates' network. Joe's gaze lingered on the screen.

"Do you need to take care of something? I'm going to sleep," Skylar murmured sleepily, pulling away from Joe's embrace. He set his phone aside and pulled her back. "Let's sleep together."

The next morning, during breakfast, Gloria called. She inquired about Skylar's well-being and shared her own news. Their conversation, focused more on each other than themselves, lasted some time. As it ended, Skylar suggested Joe speak with Gloria. He glanced at her and said, "Sure." But Gloria quickly declined, her usual dismissive tone unchanged. "We just saw each other yesterday. There's nothing to talk about. I'm going to have some water. You rest well," she said.

Joe's lips twitched in frustration at the dismissal. Skylar stifled a laugh. Only Gloria could leave Joe feeling so utterly helpless.

While Joe washed dishes, his phone buzzed with a new notification on the table. Skylar glanced at it casually; it was another friend request. Without giving it much thought, she took a sip of water, grabbed a book, and went to read on the couch.

After finishing the dishes, Joe noticed the friend request. His eyes lingered on the screen. Skylar turned, catching his expression. She noticed a darkening, a shift in his mood. The sudden tension reminded her of her encounter with Vera in the parking lot the previous day. Her chest tightened, and she looked away.

After Joe left, Skylar couldn't focus on her book. With a hospital appointment and plans to buy a new car, she left Galaxy Villa half an hour later. She browsed casually at a car dealership, having already test-driven two unsatisfactory vehicles elsewhere. Luxury, she mused, was quickly acquired but difficult to relinquish once experienced; the cars she'd driven earlier paled in comparison to Joe's.