CHAPTER 25: YOU LOOK GOOD UP CLOSE

CHAPTER 25: YOU LOOK GOOD UP CLOSE
Gavin already knew Jake. He must’ve read it from my diary, the one I mistakenly handed to him. I couldn’t even blame him.

“Hey,” he said softly, his tone carrying both firmness and care. “Don’t cry like a little kid who lost her toy. He doesn’t deserve even a single tear.”

“But I feel like it…” My voice cracked as I tried to keep the tears from spilling.

Before I could break down, Gavin pulled me into his arms. My head fell against his chest, steady and warm.

“Do it now,” he whispered.

And so I did. The tears I’d been holding back poured out. His embrace felt like a safe place, like a shelter I never had with Jake.

“Cry all you want. It’s okay to feel this way sometimes,” he murmured, his hand patting my back in slow, comforting strokes. “But don’t let other people see it. They’ll only use your weakness against you.”

In his arms, I felt small, fragile—like a child again. But for once, that didn’t scare me. It made me feel… protected.

The elevator opened.

And there he was.

Jake.

He was standing right in front of us, breathing hard like he had been running.

I froze on the spot.

It was Gavin who let go first. He moved away slowly, carefully, but his hand stayed on my shoulder. He guided me out of the elevator like nothing was wrong.

He didn’t talk. He didn’t even look at Jake. It was like he didn’t see him at all.

But I felt it—Jake’s eyes were on me. Heavy. Searching.

I kept my head down. I didn’t dare to look at him.

Because those eyes…
The ones I once loved so much—
Are now the ones I’m most afraid to see.

The moment we reached my office, I went straight to the couch and sank into it. Gavin, on the other hand, walked over to the coffee machine in the corner.

I leaned back, closed my eyes, and tried to process everything that happened earlier—at the entrance, and in the elevator.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Gavin. He was brewing coffee. For a second, I just watched him. Some strands of his blonde curls had fallen over his face. His hazel-brown eyes—so warm, they always reminded me of chocolate. His sharp jaw didn’t match his gentle personality. And his lips… naturally red. Too perfect for someone who was supposed to be just my assistant.

“Here.”

His voice broke my thoughts. He set a cup of coffee on the table in front of me. I blinked, realizing he was already done.

I touched the cup. The coffee was warm—exactly the way I liked it.

“How did you know I prefer warm?” I asked, confused.

Before answering, he set his own cup down and sat beside me.

“I noticed,” he said simply, with certainty.

I stared at him. He noticed… and remembered?

“How many times?” I pressed.

“Once.” He replied, then calmly took a sip of his drink.

I couldn’t stop the smile tugging at my lips, so I hid it by sipping my coffee too.

“Let’s go to the LAB together.” Gavin said so suddenly that I choked on my coffee.

“What?!” I coughed out, eyes wide.

“LAB. As in laboratory. For your health test. You told me that yesterday,” he explained casually.

Right. Of course. My mind went somewhere else.

“What were you even thinking?” he teased. “Don’t worry, I know my boundary, woman.”

That only made it worse.

“Boundary, my ass,” I muttered, rolling my eyes.

He burst out laughing, the kind that shook his shoulders. Then he started tapping my back over and over like I was choking.

“Ouch! Stop that, your hands are heavy! I’m a woman, Gavin!” I yelled, swatting at him.

Instead of stopping, he suddenly shoved me lightly like a kid.

“Oh, so that’s how you want it, huh?” I smirked, grabbing a pillow and smacking him.

He grabbed another pillow and hit me back. “Pillow fight!!!” he shouted like a child.

We kept hitting each other, laughing so hard that we didn’t even care when the pillow ripped open. Cotton flew everywhere, spreading all over the room.

We chased each other around, slipping, laughing, throwing cotton in the air like snow.

Time passed, but we didn’t notice. The mess didn’t matter. Nothing mattered—except the way it felt to just laugh and forget everything for a while.

Until my body gave up, I laid down on the floor. Gavin noticed me but didn’t question it. Instead, he followed and lay down beside me, not caring about the dirt or the mess scattered around.

“Gav,” I whispered, catching his attention. He turned to his side to face me.

“Is it wrong to avoid someone because they hurt you, even if they don’t know they did?” I asked softly.

“The real question is—did you confront him? Did you ever ask him?” he replied.

I slowly shook my head.

“Then you should. He’ll never know if you keep it inside and expect him to figure it out. Sometimes, you ignore someone because they hurt you without knowing… but in return, they act the way they do because you seem uninterested and unsure,” he explained.

“Yeah… maybe,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

Even with my eyes shut, I could feel his gaze on me. But I let it be.

“I didn’t know you look good up close,” he said.

A small smile formed on my lips as I faced him. “You—”

I stopped. He was too close. Just one breath away.

I swallowed hard. His eyes locked into mine, then slowly shifted down to my lips.

Damn.

He was tempting me. I wanted to pull back, but my body refused to move.

“I mean it,” he whispered.

“I want to say the same thing too,” I whispered back.

My lips parted, waiting for something… but instead, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on my forehead.

Before I could even react, the sound of the door broke in. Someone pushed it open without knocking.

“Ma’am Rei—” the staff stopped mid-sentence, frozen at the sight she saw.