Chapter 95 Morning after the kiss
Hannah
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, the same memory played on repeat.
Timothy’s hand on my waist.
The warmth of his mouth against mine.
The way I had leaned into him like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Then the panic would creep in again, twisting my stomach into knots.
I tossed and turned most of the night, drifting in and out of short, restless sleep.
When morning finally came, I felt like I had only blinked.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains as my alarm buzzed faintly on the nightstand.
I groaned and rolled onto my back, staring up at the ceiling.
Today was the breakfast.
The one I had promised him.
My stomach immediately tightened.
“Maybe I overslept,” I muttered to myself hopefully.
I grabbed my phone.
7:18 a.m.
Definitely not overslept.
I could still technically bail.
I could stay here.
Text him something polite.
Sorry, I didn’t sleep well. Maybe another time.
It would be easy.
Safe.
Comfortable.
I sat up slowly and rubbed my face.
But the memory of his voice from last night drifted back into my mind.
We can’t keep running from each other.
I sighed heavily.
“Fine.”
I dragged myself out of bed and got ready slowly.
Too slowly.
By the time I finished brushing my hair, I realized I had been staring at my reflection in the mirror for nearly five minutes.
“You’re being ridiculous,” I told myself.
It was just breakfast.
Not a life-or-death situation.
Still, when I finally reached my bedroom door, my hand hesitated on the handle.
My mind ran through the possibilities.
Option one: open the door, go downstairs, face Timothy like a normal adult.
Option two: crawl back into bed and pretend the world didn’t exist.
I stood there for a full minute debating with myself.
Then I straightened my shoulders.
“Coward,” I muttered under my breath.
I opened the door.
The hallway was quiet as I walked toward the stairs.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
By the time I reached the dining room entrance, my stomach had tied itself into several complicated knots.
And there he was.
Timothy sat at the table already, a cup of coffee in front of him.
When he saw me, his expression softened slightly.
A small smile tugged at his mouth.
“Well,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I was half expecting you to bail.”
I paused in the doorway.
He wasn’t wrong.
I forced a small smile.
“I thought about it.”
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“But I didn’t,” I added quickly.
“Clearly.”
I walked over and sat down across from him.
The table was already laid out with breakfast.
Eggs.
Toast.
Fruit.
Coffee.
It looked completely normal.
Which somehow made everything feel more awkward.
We both reached for plates at the same time.
I avoided his eyes as I filled mine.
Eggs.
A slice of toast.
Some fruit.
Timothy did the same.
The quiet between us stretched for a moment.
Then we both started eating.
And suddenly I had no idea what to say.
This was ridiculous.
We had eaten breakfast together dozens of times before.
But now everything felt different.
More careful.
Like we were both stepping around something invisible in the room.
Timothy broke the silence first.
“How did you sleep?”
I swallowed a bite of toast.
“Not great,” I admitted.
His mouth twitched slightly.
“Same.”
I picked at a piece of fruit.
“How about you?” I asked after a moment. “Any plans today?”
“A few meetings,” he replied. “Nothing exciting.”
He took a sip of coffee.
“What about you?”
“I’m going out with Sienna later.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. She decided I need fresh air and social interaction.”
“That sounds like Sienna.”
I smiled faintly.
“She’s very bossy.”
Timothy chuckled quietly.
We ate for a few minutes before another question popped into my head.
“What’s happening with that corporate mess you were dealing with a while ago?”
He sighed slightly.
“Almost finished.”
“Good.”
“I’m hoping it’ll wrap up soon.”
“That must be a relief.”
“You have no idea.”
The conversation continued like that.
Simple.
Normal.
But something about it still felt… tentative.
Like we were both carefully avoiding stepping into dangerous territory.
Timothy finished his breakfast first.
Normally he would stand up and head out after that.
But today he didn’t move.
Instead, he stayed seated and continued talking with me while I finished eating.
That surprised me more than I expected.
Eventually I finished as well and leaned back slightly in my chair.
The moment lingered.
Then Timothy’s phone rang.
The sharp sound broke the calm instantly.
He glanced down at the screen.
A small frown appeared.
He answered quickly.
“Yes?”
I watched his expression carefully.
Whatever the person on the other end was saying, he didn’t seem pleased.
His jaw tightened slightly.
“I’m on my way,” he said shortly.
Then he hung up.
The silence returned.
Timothy sighed and stood up.
“Sorry,” he said.
His tone carried an unspoken apology.
I waved it off quickly.
“It’s fine.”
Work was work.
We both pushed our chairs in and walked out of the dining room together.
The hallway felt oddly quiet again.
I expected him to head toward the front door.
Instead he stopped.
I nearly walked past him before realizing.
He cleared his throat.
“Hannah.”
I turned around.
“Yes?”
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then he said quietly,
“About last night…”
My breath caught in my throat.
A mix of dread and anticipation twisted together in my chest.
I waited for whatever he was about to say.