heart strings♥

Chapter 40: The Reunion

"Alex, you can stop now," Raysa said and giggled when he tightened his hold on her. "Seriously, put me down!"

He smiled at her, coming to a slow stop before bringing her down to her feet. Her hands held the Trophy, the prize they received for their amazing performance.

Alex took her free hand and they ran out of the school.

"Where are we going?" Raysa asked excitedly, feeling the heat of his hand spread all over her, relishing in the firm grip he had on her and the fact that he was really back.

"To my house," he said as if it was the most obvious answer.

She bit back a smile and followed after him.

Their paces slowed as they reached the familiar streets that led towards Alex' mansion. They relaxed and the pressure in their locked hands gentled.

"How'd you manage to get back so quickly?" she asked glancing at his godly face change into an expression of amusement as he lazily glanced at her.

"Helicopter," came his answer.

She bumped his shoulder, "That's not what I meant."

He smiled, "I made a friend, and got a ride."

The word friend rang in her head and she instantly became interested. "Who?"

Alex handed her his phone and said that there's a picture inside. She raised a brow skeptically, "You took pictures?"

"No," he said, "Charlotte played with my phone while I was working on Marcus' paperwork."

Charlotte? Raysa wondered. She took the phone and went to the photos. Curious to see who his new friends were (especially Charlotte), she blinked in surprise when the very first image that greeted her was the face of a beautiful woman sitting next to Alex who had a lazy smile on his face. The beautiful young woman seemed to be laughing as she sa close to him.

Raysa's heart ached painfully as jealousy washed over her. The sudden wave of such emotion surprised her. She didn't know how unpleasant it felt and she felt possessive and selfish of Alex.

Shaking her head as if to remove the unwanted feelings that was filling her, she smiled ruefully when she realized that it would stay like this until she finds a way to get rid of it.

But how?

Glancing at Alex, she saw him looking straight ahead, his expression calm and relaxed. He seemed so content with keeping the silence and just holding hands with her that she felt silly for being jealous. And yet the feeling stayed, stinging and poking the dark depths of her imagination.

Noticing her staring, he gave her a sideway glance, his dark blue eyes regarding her fondly, "What?"

Blushing and feeling ridiculous, she bit her lip and shook her head, trying for a reassuring smile that didn't quite work. "It's nothing."

Alex stared at her intently, knowing that she wasn't telling him something. He was about to ask when she turned off his phone and handed it back to him. "It's great that you made some friends," she said.

The tone in her voice was strange. He opened his mouth to voice out his thoughts when she ran ahead towards the front of his house. He stared at the changes that had taken place in the front yard. There were some healthy green grass and flowery plants that decorated the yard.

Seeing his expression, a genuine smile reached her lips, "I used a small portion of your mountain of money to fix the place."

"How did you know where---"