Agnes was a bit surprised when she received the message, almost thinking she was seeing things. Tom had actually reached out to her? Her heart warmed instantly, and she felt particularly happy. But mostly, she missed him. She couldn’t see him, while Lisa could, and he could even drink the soup Lisa made for him. “No,” she replied simply with two words.
Tom didn’t respond for a long time, making Agnes feel a bit down again. What was he doing? Was he very busy? She didn’t want to send him more messages either.
After a while, Tom called her. Lying in bed, Agnes quickly sat up, hugged a pillow to her chest, and adjusted her breathing before answering the call. “Hello, are you done with work?” she asked cautiously.
“Yeah, just got out of the lab,” Tom said as he got into Jeffery’s car, ready to head back to his apartment for some rest. “Were you about to go to sleep?” He didn’t want to disturb her.
“No, I usually sleep late,” the girl replied sweetly. “Have you been tired lately? Are you getting enough rest?”
“I’m getting enough rest and taking care of my health, don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
Agnes then ran out of words. She had so much she wanted to say but didn’t know how to start. She was also afraid Tom might hang up the phone, so she softly said, “I saw Lisa today.”
Tom was surprised. “Lisa? Isn’t she in my city?”
“Yes.”
“Did she come to see you?” Tom asked, astonished.
“Yes,” Agnes replied calmly. “She showed me some photos taken outside the research institute. She must have made soup for you. The photos were just of the two of you.”
“There’s nothing between us,” Tom blurted out.
His quick response sounded like an explanation to a girlfriend, which made Agnes quite happy. Of course, she believed him.
“What did she say to you?” he asked.
The girl smiled. “She said you two would get married abroad and that she knows our engagement is fake.”
“Do you believe that?” Tom asked. “Do you believe I would marry her?”
The girl smiled and shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”
After a moment, Tom said to her, “If I liked her, there wouldn’t have been anything between us from the start.”
Agnes felt warm inside, and all her gloominess disappeared.
“What do you really feel about me?” Overcome with emotion, the girl couldn’t help but bring up this potentially awkward topic. “Do you find me annoying?”
“No,” Tom answered. To him, she was like a child-just a bit immature-how could he find her annoying?
“I’ve been bothering you for so many years; do you really not resent it?”
“No.”
Hearing his firm answer, Agnes finally felt relieved.
Because she loved him, she always looked for faults in herself and lacked confidence, feeling unworthy of him.
The conversation turned to feelings, but she didn’t have the courage to say they should be together.
She feared that getting too close might make her lose even more.
Compared to before when they didn’t even know where each other was, at least now she knew his situation and felt content with that.
“Good night; you have work tomorrow, get some rest,” Tom said to her.
Though reluctant to part, Agnes replied, “Good night; take care.” She then ended the call.