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"Yes," I confirm, crossing my arms in front of me. "You need to stop avoiding me." I go straight to the chase.

"I'm not avoiding you," he immediately starts denying it, but I won't have it. Instead, I place my finger on his lips, enjoying the way his eyes widen—especially now that the roles are reversed for the first time.

"Yes, you are. And you need to stop taking advice from the internet. I doubt they know what they're saying," I continue.

"Wh…" He tries to speak, but I shake my head at him, not done.

"No more games, Vlad. Let's put our cards on the table for once and for all."

His hand comes up, capturing my wrist as he brings it to his lips, his tongue peeking out to lick the sensitive area. My pulse quickens, but I refuse to let myself be seduced.

"Vlad." I push my chin up, my eyes challenging him to take me seriously.

"You snooped." Is all he says, his eyes holding me captive with their intensity. There's no condemnation in his gaze, no hint that he's mad at my snooping. So I just nod.

"You're going about this all wrong," I tell him, wrenching my hand away and taking a seat on the bed. "You don't need to try tricks likeplaying hard to get." I roll my eyes at him and he has the decency to look embarrassed at my words.

"We can just have a serious conversation. I'm all ears," I say, happy I've managed to remain so composed.

He looks at me for a few seconds before slowly nodding and coming to sit next to me.

14

SISI

He's not too close but not too far either. His position is awfully stiff too, his legs spread apart, his hands resting on his knees.

Silence descends as neither of us starts talking.

It's now or never.

I don't know if I'm taking a huge risk, but I stretch my arm over to his side, my palm coming to rest on top of his hand.

He seems surprised by the touch, his body jerking up slightly before slowly becoming more relaxed. Still, there's a lot of tension underneath, and I can feel that he's trying to keep himself in check.

"Why did you fix the bear, Vlad?" I ask the question that had baffled me the most. Turning toward him, I watch him swallow hard, taking his time to reply as if he's choosing his words carefully.

"It was a gift. For you," he eventually says, his voice low and lacking his usual confidence.

"And?" I continue to probe. His shoulders angle up in a careless shrug, his lips pursed as if he doesn't know the answer either.

"I felt bad for it," he eventually replies, and his words tug at my heart. "I wanted you to have it," he continues, and for the first time I note a raw vulnerability to him. "You like teddy bears. I know you do." His eyes meet mine, his gaze cloudy with confusion.

"Why are you doing all of this? What are you trying to gain?"

He takes a deep breath, sounding almost defeated.

"I know what I did to you doesn't deserve forgiveness. I know that," he pauses, his brows knit together in a frown. "But I can't do this without you, Sisi. I thought I could. I thought you'd be better off without me. Hell, you probablyarebetter off without me. But I'm such a selfish bastard that I can't let you go," he says, his rough voice sending shivers down my back.

"What are you trying to say, Vlad? Help me understand you, because, honestly, all of your actions so far have done nothing more than confuse me," I tell him, my hand still on his.

"Sisi…" he groans, bending his head low.

"You know I'm not indifferent to you, Vlad. But at the same time, I don't know if I can trust you. You threw me aside once. Who's to say you won't do it again?" I voice out my utmost worry. "You approach everything from a logical angle. What if next time youlogicallydecide I'm a liability again? I can't do this every single time. I can't just wait around for your moods to change."

"Sisi, nothing about you is logical. Nothing I've ever done when it comes to you iseverlogical. I know I screwed up. Fuck, I know I've been the biggest ass, on top of physically hurting you too. But please, just give me one more chance to prove to you that I didn't mean what I said. That you really are the most important person for me." He turns his palm up, cupping mine and squeezing it.

"I'm not myself without you," he confesses, "I know it sounds strange. Hell, even to my ears it sounds ludicrous. I spent thirtyyears just fine without you, but now I realize Iwasn'tfine." he closes his eyes, taking a deep breath.