Chapter 17. Inner Sustenance

The apartment door creaked open, and Aryan entered, slipping off his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack behind the door. He slowly made his way inside, hearing the sound of the television still on. He glanced at his wristwatch, which showed 11:30 PM. Aryan stood there for a while, watching Laura engrossed in her favorite Korean drama while cradling a jar of snacks. A smile spread across Aryan's face as he saw Laura was fine during his absence. It turned out that this woman could make him miss her terribly. It wasn't just her smile or her cooking, but also her chattering that he missed.

"You're not asleep yet?" Aryan asked gently, which immediately made Laura turn in surprise. Aryan approached and sat cross-legged on the floor, facing Laura, who was on the sofa. He took the jar from Laura's lap and placed it on the table. Laura froze, looking at Aryan, unable to believe that the man before her was the same person she had missed so much that she couldn't close her eyes for