BIT

One month later.

Morning sunlight streamed through the gaps in the window blinds. Rebecca squinted, waking up from a long sleep. Last night she felt very exhausted after creating content for her social media and deliberately drank two glasses of wine before going to bed.

With half–closed eyes, she groped for the nightstand, picking up her phone that was lying there. She unlocked her phone, and her sleepiness vanished instantly.

“No way…”

There were tens of thousands of notifications on her phone; the makeup challenge she did last night had gone viral just minutes after she uploaded the content,

“Oh God, is this even real?” she murmured, unable to believe what she was seeing. Nervously, she restarted her phone and checked her social media account once more to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating.

“This is magic, how could I gain ninety thousand new followers in one night!” she exclaimed, covering her mouth in disbelief. She was about to jump but immediately remembered that her right leg was broken. Instead, she hugged her pillow tightly and

away from smiled broadly, something she hadn’t done since Alicia had taken that smile

her.

“Okay, I’ll reach one million followers in two weeks, I can definitely do it!” she exclaimed, then quickly moved to her wheelchair, a skill she had recently mastered.

She wheeled herself to the pantry and enthusiastically made coffee. She didn’t even bother to wash her face because her mind was filled with dopamine.

As she was sipping her hot coffee, suddenly the doorbell of her apartment rang loudly. She frowned, not expecting anyone to visit her since Nicholas had been back in New York for almost two weeks to handle her divorce trial.

Reluctantly, she opened the door and-

“Bonjour! I bought you croissants!” Suddenly, Nicholas stood in front of her, looking handsome in his jeans and dark blue crewneck.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in New York?” Rebecca asked, confused.

11:27 Wed, Aug 14 G·

Nicholas chuckled,

“Well, I have floo powder, you know? Harry Potter?” he joked as he stepped into the apartment past Rebecca, who was still staring at him with a furrowed brow.

“I’m serious, Nic, did my divorce trial go smoothly?” Rebecca pressed, not at all interested in Nicholas’s joke.

Nicholas placed the paper bag containing the croissants on the table and then turned to look at Rebecca seriously. He extended his right hand, making Rebecca even more confused, “Come on, don’t joke around! I’m dead serious!”

“Congratulations! As of today, you are officially Rebecca Harper, and your divorce process is completed faster than I expected. So, should we celebrate it?” Nicholas said,

anyone else. smiling broadly as if he wanted the divorce more than

Rebecca felt a sting in her chest upon hearing the news, but she tried to cover it up and just smiled slightly.

“Good then, um, where did you buy these croissants? They look delicious!” Rebecca exclaimed, changing the topic. She grabbed a chocolate–filled croissant and stuffed it into her mouth in one big bite. She chewed quickly as if every chew could reduce the pain in her chest.

“Hey, is it that good?” Nicholas teased as he grabbed a piece of croissant and bit into it slowly. His eyes couldn’t leave Rebecca, who looked even more beautiful without any makeup on.

“Wow, your makeup and skincare products are increasing, this apartment looks much

suitcase smaller than the first time I saw it,” Nicholas mumbled when he saw an open filled with various makeup and skincare products that Rebecca used for her makeup challenge content.

“I know, but I still feel quite comfortable here” Rebecca replied, she could read where the conversation was going.

“Becky…” Nicholas suddenly knelt in front of Rebecca’s wheelchair, making her widen her eyes in shock. “Nic, What are you doing? Don’t do this okay? Just stand up!” Rebecca asked, swallowing her croissant with difficulty

“Do you know the quickest way to forget someone?” asked Nicholas out of the blue. © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Rebecca shrugged, “What are you talking about? I don’t know-”

“Start a new relationship with someone new, it will help,” Nicholas said, looking deeply into Rebecca’s eyes.

“Nic, you know I can’t, I’ll just end up hurting you because I don’t have the same feelings for you. Can you just stop? I mean-

Nicholas took Rebecca’s hands, holding them gently. “I don’t care if you use me as a tool to heal from your deep wounds because your happiness is all that matters. Becky, I’m fully aware of my words, so use me! Use me to bring back the light in your eyes…”

“But-

“At least try! If it doesn’t work, you can always try other ways,” Nicholas interrupted with a pleading look that disturbed her.

Rebecca ed to refuse, but she knew Nicholas would never give up until she said ‘yes‘. Finally, she nodded, “Well, only if you think this will change something.”

Nicholas’s eyes sparkled instantly. “I promise there will only be good days with me, we’ll do everything together, no more loneliness, I promise!”

Rebecca just grimaced, running out of words.

“Um, I need to pee,” she said so Nicholas would let go of her hands. Nicholas nodded, still smiling from ear to ear. “Sure, I’ll take you there!”

“No, I can do it by myself. Please Nic, if you still want to try with me, stop being so overprotective, I don’t like being treated that way,” Rebecca said a bit curtly. She didn’t know if it was just her feelings or if she actually saw Nicholas’s face turn angry. She hurriedly wheeled herself to the bathroom and locked herself in.

She just stayed in the bathroom for a few minutes, still too shocked by the change in her status with Nicholas. She splashed some cold water on her face, trying to gather her thoughts. Her mind raced with the implications of starting a relationship with him. Could she really move on so easily?

As she dried her face and took a deep breath, she heard a muffled sound from the living room. Her heart pounded. She unlocked the bathroom door and wheeled herself out, finding Nicholas standing by the window, his back to her.

“Nic? What happened?”

He turned around, his expression unreadable “Becky, there’s something you need to