Chapter 61-Unexpected abs

Chapter 61: 61-Unexpected abs

Aymara’s face burnt. She had faced mutated creatures without hesitation, watched cities drown, confronted Dylan and Sarah and stared into danger without allowing herself to flinch.

Yet somehow, walking toward Nathaniel’s room made her more nervous than all of that combined.

Her steps slowed as she became increasingly aware of every sound around her. The soft tap of her shoes against the floor, the quickening beat of her heart, and the quiet breath she kept holding without realizing it.

What if he was awake? What would she even say?

Good afternoon, Nathaniel. No, that sounded too formal. Did you sleep well? That sounded ridiculous to be an opening line. Maybe she could talk about last night... Absolutely not.

Aymara’s cheeks warmed as her mind returned to the kiss. She immediately replayed the moment in her head; Nathaniel’s startled expression, the way his entire face had turned red, and the embarrassment in his eyes afterward.

She could still remember the brief warmth of his lips, the way he had gone completely still, and the lingering sensation that had refused to fade no matter how many times she told herself it had been nothing more than a friendly kiss.

Aymara covered her face for a moment as she walked. "Why am I nervous?" She had kissed him. It wasn’t as though she had committed a crime.

Well... considering how shocked he had been, it certainly felt like one.

The worst part was that she had no idea how he would react now. Would he avoid her? Would he pretend nothing had happened? Would he be too embarrassed to look at her? Or would he finally talk to her about it?

Aymara’s heart beat faster at the thought. She had spent years regretting losing Nathaniel.

For a long time, she had convinced herself that regret was all she had left: a private wound she could hide beneath anger, ambition, and control.

Then he had appeared in her life again, alive and standing in front of her when she had already accepted that she would never see him again.

His return had unsettled everything she thought she understood about herself.

She didn’t want one awkward kiss to create another distance between them. She didn’t want to retreat behind pride and silence, only to discover years later that she had once again allowed fear to decide for her.

Aymara wanted to see his face when he looked at her, hear his voice even if it came out uncertain, and know whether the warmth she had felt between them had been real or merely something she had imagined because she had missed him for too long.

More than that, she wanted to know whether he had missed her too.

Her steps slowed again as his door came into view. She could turn around and wait until later, when she had found the right words and her pulse had stopped betraying her.

She even debated if she could send him a message instead. She could pretend she had only come to check on his condition and leave before the conversation became personal.

But the thought of postponing it only made the anticipation tighten in her chest.

She stopped outside his door, her hand hovering over the handle, and took a deep breath.

"Okay. You can do this," she encouraged herself. "Just turn it, that’s how it works."

Her voice sounded small in the empty corridor. She could handle this. She had survived the end of the world. She could certainly survive one conversation with Nathaniel, at least, that’s what she told herself.

Her fingers closed around the handle, and the metal felt cool against her skin. Then she hesitated again.

’Would he even have the courage to talk to me after how embarrassed he was?’

Aymara bit her lower lip. Perhaps he was still asleep and she shouldn’t disturb him, her mind started finding excuses.

She could quietly check on him, leave, and give him more time. That way, neither of them would have to confront the awkwardness immediately.

But another part of her wanted to see him. Wanted to know how he was feeling and whether he had been thinking about what happened between them or had already dismissed it.

Most importantly, she wanted to know whether the distance between them was finally beginning to disappear.

"C’mon, Aymara. Just turn it and go in. You’ve got this."

At that moment, the mechanical voice sounded in her ear.

[Host, have you perhaps forgotten how to unlock a door?]

Aymara gritted her teeth and glared at the spot above her head. The blue screen didn’t appear snf Aymara had no idea why she always just assumed the system was above.

It had something to do with the system always looking down on her. She just naturally raised her chin and glanced up when addressing it.

And of all times for the system to make an appearance, that was the worst timing possible.

"Get lost!" She spoke through clenched teeth.

[Did I get assigned to a host with Alzheimers?]

The nervousness inside Aymara started shifting into annoyance.

"I don’t have alzheimers. Now leave."

[Host, please state your name and everything you remember about your life.]

"???" Aymara’s jaw dropped as three question marks formed in her mind.

"Forget it," she slowly turned the handle, tuning out the annoying mechanical voice.

The door opened with a soft click, and Aymara peeked inside. "Nathaniel?" her voice was soft, almost hesitant.

The room was dimmer than the corridor, the curtains only partly open. For one brief second, she saw nothing but the outline of the bed and the pale light falling across the floor.

Then her eyes adjusted and the moment she saw him, her heart gave an unexpected little stumble.

Nathaniel had just stepped out of the bathroom. A towel was wrapped securely around his waist, leaving his upper body bare. Droplets of water clung to his skin, catching the pale light as they slipped from his damp hair along the lines of his shoulders.

The faint, clean scent of soap reached her, warm against the cooler air of the room. One hand held a towel, which he was using to dry his hair while the other swung freely at his side.

The simple movement drew her attention to the quiet strength in his arms, so different from the fragile image she had carried of him for years. A strange warmth stirred beneath her ribs, and she hated how quickly she noticed it.

Aymara stopped breathing. Her gaze lingered for half a second too long before she remembered herself.

This was Nathaniel, the supposedly sickly, fragile Nathaniel???

The man who had spent years making her worry about whether he had taken his medicine on time.

She had known his pale face, his tired smiles, the way he sometimes leaned against a wall when he thought no one was watching but this other side to him?

Nathaniel continued drying his hair for another second before something made him glance toward the door.

His movements stopped and their eyes met. Immediately, Aymara’s entire face went blank. ’Oh, oh!’