Page 57 of Love, Academically
“No, Rhys! This is my life and I will do what I want to with it. If that includes having to pay off a loan so I don’t have to interact with Jason for the sake of my mental health, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Lila flopped back against the sofa and swallowed hard. That was another tick in the ‘stupid’ box. She’d bet her silk kimono – the one that Maddy and Ruby had brought back from their honeymoon – that Rhys thought she was pathetic for continuing to let Jason walk all over her, paying his debts.
But it was so nearly done and in the next couple of years she could put those payments towards a linguistics course and she’d be on her way. She just had to bide her time and hope she didn’t have any major issues, like a boiler breakage or a car failure or anything else that would wipe out the scant bit of money she’d have after she repaid the loan.
She glanced at Rhys, and that frown hadn’t moved from his face. His jaw worked as if he was trying to figure it all out. Figureherout.
“I’m sorry, Lila,” he said eventually. “I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay, Rhys,” she said automatically.
“No, it’s not. I apologise.” He took her hand in both of his warm ones. “I am sorry.”
“Itisokay. I forgive you.”
A small smile flashed across his face, but didn’t reach his eyes.
“I really should go now.”
“Oh, all right,” she said with a smile. “I’ll walk you the four steps to the front door.”
A huff of a laugh escaped his chest and he shuffled his papers together and put them in his bag.
“Thanks again,” she said, leaning against the door frame. “For the dress.”
“You’re welcome. Besides, it’s for me really. You know, the ‘personal success’ part of my life.”
Mr Dallimore Senior had really done a number on him if ‘personal success’ was measured by a relationship with the opposite sex. But now was not the time to get into that.
“See you on Monday,” she said. Rhys looked as if he wanted to say something, so she waited. In fact, he even opened his mouth to say something, but clamped it shut again.
“Rhys, don’t worry about it, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, his smile tight. He was definitely still worrying about it. “See you on Monday.”
Chapter 9
Anagnorisis(noun) an·ag·no·ri·sis
The point in the plot at which the protagonist recognises his or her or some other character’s true identity or discovers the true nature of his or her own situation
Rhys
The seminar was hell. There was no other word for it; hell.
Not only was he stuck on a merry-go-round of ‘but Richard I was agoodking’ with his students who had watched one too many Robin Hood adaptations, but he was distracted. Couldn’t concentrate. Things like ‘pay more attention’ never once graced his school reports and he prided himself on his ability to single-mindedly focus on whatever he was doing. In fact, even his father had praised his machine-like ability to work.
But his brain was failing him today. There was little to no concentration and certainly not in Lila Cartwright’s office. Because he had already eaten two cookies from the tin that sat on the little table, and he wanted another. Because of the lemon cake smell coming suspiciously from one of Lila’s desk drawers. Because of the way the light from the window made her hair seem to glow.
“Mr Aubrey?” the sniffler asked, although she was much less sniffly today.
He tore his eyes away from Lila’s fingers dancing on thekeyboard of her computer and focused on the student in front of him.
“Yes?”
