Way Back Into Love (Essie)

Chapter 75 Essie's Thoughts

Essie nodded aimlessly as if she was in deep thought.

His eyebrows furrowed and asked, "Can he compete with me?"

"Well, he’s only the champion of our university’s street dance competition, so you know, he’s the dance

king," Essie affirmed in a mocking tone. Still dancing and swaying, she turned her back on Zac.

‘Where’s he getting this much confidence? How narcissistic!’ she sniffed at him. A hint of disgust was

written on his face. ‘Champion at your university? I was the top dancer back in Harvard—a champion in

the US!’ "From now on, I’ll be your only partner." He asserted in an intimidating tone as if trying to

express his ownership over Essie.

"Why? I’m not your only partner anyway…" Her bright eyes suddenly turned gloomy when she realized

what she had said. She knew his real companion was Leila—the one person he would dance and

watch movies with, along with all kinds of things a couple would do together. ‘Leila is the only one in

your heart. I’m just a nobody. I’ll pass by in your life and would soon be erased from your memories,’

Essie thought to herself.

"You know, I’ll think about it if you ask," Zac teased, his voice sounded clear despite the sudden, cool

and flowery breeze.

Essie was stunned and had to sit down on the chair. She took a gardenia and smelled it.

Her mind started to wander.

‘It must be a joke, right? He had never taken my words seriously.

He’s probably just kidding around. Besides, he takes pleasure in teasing me.’

Essie looked up and made up her mind. She blurted out, "I don’t care. You can dance with anyone for

all I care, and it won’t have anything to do with me!" She pouted and didn’t give him a single chance to

make fun of her.

"Really?" Zac snorted. A gloomy light flashed across his face and he fixed his eyes on Essie. "You’re

lying."

She trembled in fear. His focused gaze was sharp and deep as if he were looking through her soul. It

made her uneasy and felt like he could see the deepest secret she was hiding in her heart.

Essie shifted her eyes to the gardenia she was holding and started tearing the petals into pieces. She

let out a sigh and muttered, "I don’t like you." Even though she spoke under her breath, Zac heard her

as clear as day. He had an unpleasant expression written all over his face and let out a bitter smile.

"Don’t you really have any feelings for me?"

Hearing this question, Essie froze. She blinked and looked down. Her thick eyelashes cast a deep

shadow on her eyes. "Well, you don’t have any feelings for me either," she murmured. Her voice was

calm, natural, and stable, but the words she said were filled with unspeakable loneliness and

hopelessness.

Zac was at a loss for words. His dark eyes looked like an abyss of conflicting and complicated feelings.

The deafening silence seemed to slow down the hands of time.

Essie felt like the whole city fell quiet, and she hated this silence. She felt confused, upset, and

hopeless.

‘Hopeless?

Why would I feel hopeless?

I knew from the start that nothing’s ever going to happen, so why would I feel hopeless?’ Essie scoffed

at her own thoughts.

She always knew that whatever was happening between them was all part of the deal.

She never hoped for anything to happen. It was all for show—nothing was real.

Essie denied the thought without hesitation, despite hearing the little voice from her heart that kept

going against her.

The night ended with a cloud of heavy feelings. In the next two days, Zac went out early and came

back late.

Essie thought he should finally make up with Leila.

‘If they finally got together again, shouldn’t they get along well?’ she reckoned.

Meanwhile, Essie hadn’t visited Hanson for several days. She stayed and refused to go out as much as

she could. He called her several times, but she always made excuses about why she couldn’t go.

Thinking back when she found out that Hanson delayed his wedding with the injury, she felt a glimmer

of hope. However, realizing that there were plenty of obstacles between them—his mother and family,

Sunny, his career—that hope was put to silence.

Afternoon came, and the two clients Eva introduced to Essie dropped by. Looking at Essie’s design Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

portfolio, they seemed satisfied that they immediately chose several styles.

After their agreement, they left looking very pleased. Essie organized her things so she could start

working on their preferred designs. As she sat down, her phone started ringing.

She grabbed her phone and found out it was Hanson calling her. When she answered, Hanson told her

something that stunned her. "Are you home? I sneaked out of the hospital. Can you go out? I’m

outside."