For the first time in thirteen years, Emma celebrated her birthday. She felt indebted to Haoran because he had been nothing but kind to her. He didn't only celebrate her birthday, but he also gave a thoughtful gift in the form of her parents' portrait. With her parents' sketch, they'd be able to find Emma's parents more easily.
"Thank you, Haoran. I'll always treasure this day," she emotionally said, finishing their dinner.
Haoran only nodded and smiled, "This is nothing. I'm glad you liked it."
They then walked while holding hands to the elevator of the Eiffel Tower and exited on the ground floor. It's already 9:30 PM, but the sky was still bright, and the sun was slowly setting in the west.
"The weather is beautiful today," Haoran said, still looking up at the sky. "Do you want to walk back to the hotel?"
The girl just shrugged.
"It's okay, why not. But, I won't hold your hand," Emma said, breaking free from Haoran's grasp. "What if someone sees us?"
The guy sighed and shook his head. "Emma, is it that embarrassing to be seen walking with me? A class A student walking around with a class F student?"
"That's not what I meant." Emma hurriedly shook her head. "Maybe you don't know this, but a friend of mine likes you a lot. If word gets out that you and I have a close relationship, Mary will be upset with me."
"Why do you care about other people's opinions? I thought you weren't like that. From the first time I saw you, that's what you've shown me. So, why did you change now?" Haoran asked, staring intensely at Emma.
She was put into silence by his words. It's true that she used to be alone and didn't want to make friends. But over the past few months, Nadya and Mary had treated her with kindness, and they accepted Emma as part of them. Because of them, Emma didn't feel like a reject unlike back in the orphanage.
For so many years, she had lived a lonesome life and didn't rely on anyone. Only recently did she finally have some friends, and she liked having them since they were kind to her.
"If Mary and Nadya wouldn't want to be friends with you anymore, you still have me. There's also Dinh, David, Eric, and Alex," Haoran said.
Emma looked at him with disappointed eyes. "I don't have many friends, Haoran! Why do you have to make me choose?"
After saying that, she stepped away from him with long strides. Haoran realized his mistake and chased after her.
"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. It's just that I feel bad for having to hide the friendship between us to others. But if that's what you want, fine, I'll accept it." Haoran forced a smile as he walked alongside Emma with his hands in his pockets.
As someone older than her, Haoran knew he should be the mature one between them. He then realized that for a reclusive girl, like Emma, who didn't have many friends, the thought of losing a friend would be a huge blow to her emotionally.
Haoran though had never cared about such things before because he had four close friends since childhood. No matter what happened to him, he would always have the fantastic four. But Emma's case was different, so she was being careful of losing someone dear to her.
They then walked side by side across the River Seine to their hotel while chatting about the things they had experienced in Paris.
"By the way, did you know what really happened last night?" Haoran asked out of the blue.
Emma shook her head. "No, like I told you, I sleepwalked. I've forgotten about a lot of things and can't remember what actually happened. Didn't you say there were rumors about terrorist attacks?"
YOU ARE READING
Finding Stardust (Princess Of Akkadia)
Fantasy#This novel has several male leads and they will shine in their own time. "A man should have a bucket list, don't you think? It'd be nice to see 24 sunsets with you one day." - Haoran Lee "Do you want to see how I would light up the sky for you?"...
