Chapter 8

VALERIA

Before today—or rather, before meeting the man standing before me, I had no idea I even had a thing for voices. And I certainly never imagined it could affect me so strongly.

But the moment he spoke, my insides turned to absolute mush. I had to bite down hard on my lip and summon every ounce of willpower just to keep myself from making some... embarrassing sound.

While I do regret that he and I happened to meet at such a wrong time, I also feel strangely fortunate. Fortunate that what I felt toward him was pure, unfiltered attraction, as opposed to love at first sight.

Attraction, I could manage. As it'll eventually fade.

Sure, he was the walking embodiment of my ideal type, but I didn't really know him. While the regret of missing out on him might linger from time to time, that would be the extent of it.

But love?

That would’ve been disastrous.

From the moment I stepped forward to apologize, to when I stumbled right into him,