Chapter 188

My mouth falls silent when a hand rests on my shoulder and I see my mother feign a smile. Looking over my shoulder, I meet Caelum. Oh, great, he made it. Late but here.

“Cancel what?” he asks, slipping away to greet my father. They shake hands and he proceeds to give my mother a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

Caelum sits in his chair beside me, his hand rubbing my back. I know he feels how tense I am because he leans into me to kiss my cheek. Yes, my cheek! “Breathe, I'm here now.” he whispers.

“Why weren't you picking my calls?”

“I lost my phone.” he whispers, pulling away. His hand caresses my hair and he fixes it, settling the strands behind my ear.

I smirk, nodding at him. 

You can relax now Scarlett, your parents won't home it against you. This isn't like that summer, it's just a dinner. Just.a.dinner.

Caelum starts a conversation with my parents, it starts with his excuse of how he was stuck in traffic. I guess my lie fits into it becau