Kael tapped his pencil on the desk, glancing at Aurora, who was scribbling furiously in her notebook again. Her pen moved so quickly it was like she was racing against time. He couldn't help but wonder what was so important.
"Hey, Aurora," he said, breaking the silence.
She froze mid-word and slowly looked up, her cheeks already turning pink. "Y-yeah?"
"What do you always write in that notebook?" Kael asked, genuinely curious. "You're always jotting stuff down."
Aurora's blush deepened as she clutched the notebook to her chest like it held all the world's secrets. "N-notes," she stammered. "Just notes."
Kael raised an eyebrow but shrugged. "Fair enough," he said, going back to writing about the war of Heaven and Hell. "You're really into it, though. That's cool."
Aurora let out a quiet sigh of relief, her grip on the notebook loosening as she tried to focus on the assignment. Inside, her heart was pounding. How could she ever tell him the truth? That the pages were filled with her thoughts about him—his kindness, his laugh, the way he always tried to make people smile.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, their project session ended. Kael walked Aurora to the door, thanking her for coming over. She nodded shyly and gave him a small smile before heading back home.
When Aurora got to her room, she flopped onto her bed, clutching her notebook tightly. She stared at the ceiling, her thoughts swirling.
"I hope you like me, Kael," she whispered into the quiet room. "Because... I love you... so much."
Meanwhile, back at the castle, Kael was lying in bed, scrolling through texts from his friend group. After shooting a quick reply to Drake about some video game they were all hyped about, he tossed his phone on the nightstand and yawned.
"Today was weird," he muttered, pulling the blanket over himself. "But she's nice."
He drifted off to sleep, completely unaware of the secret Aurora was keeping—and the fact that his friend Sean, her overprotective brother, would probably explode if he ever found out.
End of Chapter 37