Mixed blood

Chapter 26 : Lisianthus

Over the past few weeks, Luana had become William’s rock, her sharp mind and unwavering presence making her more than just a bystander in his academic journey.

She read through his work, marked errors he hadn’t noticed, and challenged his arguments with a confidence that both frustrated and impressed him.

Now, with his thesis finalized, only the presentation remained. William sat at his desk, the glow of his laptop casting shadows on his face as he fine-tuned the slides.

His focus was razor-sharp, fingers moving swiftly over the keyboard. He had no time for distractions.

Yet, distractions always found him.

Across from him, Luana sat curled up in an armchair, his papers spread over her lap.

She absentmindedly twirled a pen between her fingers, her brows furrowed as she read through the last few pages.

A small crease formed between her eyebrows, the telltale sign that she was about to criticize something.

“Will?”

He barely looked up. “Hm?”

Sure enough, she sat up, flipping to a highlighted section. "This part right here—it’s weak. You need to change it."

"It’s fine the way it is."

She gave him a flat look. “It does not. It’s redundant, and the wording is stiff. It doesn’t flow with the rest of your argument.”

His fingers stilled over the keyboard. "Lu, I have a million things to do. I don’t have time to go back and rewrite—"

"You should make time. If you don’t fix it, it’s going to stand out and not in a good way." She tapped the paper for emphasis.

William clenched his jaw, giving her a pointed glare. "I’m the one presenting this, not you, sí?"

"And I’m the one making sure you don’t make a fool of yourself," she shot back.

“Luna, I really don’t have time to argue with you right now.” He exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You know what? Just put it aside. I’ll look at it later."

She narrowed her eyes, unimpressed. Then, with an exaggerated thud, she slammed the papers onto his desk, making his pen roll to the floor.

"Fine," she huffed. "But if you bomb this presentation, don’t say I didn’t warn you."

His lips twitched at her dramatics. "I don’t bomb."

She tilted her head. "There’s always a first time."

And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed off.

William watched her disappear into the hallway, then let out a sigh, shaking his head.

His wife was always mad.

---

Luana plopped onto the couch, curling up with a throw pillow as she half-watched Gossip Girl. But her mind wasn’t on the show.

Every few minutes, her mind drifted back to William.

She had seen the tension in his shoulders, the dark circles under his eyes. He was stressed, overworked, and—now that she thought about it—had barely eaten anything at breakfast.

With a huff, she sat up.

Ugh. Why did she care? Why was his stress her problem?

But before she could overthink it, she was already walking toward the kitchen.