Sophia found herself huffing for the umpteenth time since the day began. She wasn’t usually this irritable or antsy, but her current situation didn’t make room for peace. The longer she fiddled with the hem of her dress or twirled the ends of her braids, the worse she felt.

Her eyes shifted upwards to the huge building in front of her, and she tried to settle her emotions. If she charged into the fancy hotel lobby and caused a scene, it would be impossible for her to face any of the employees again.

Once she was able to calm herself just enough, she pulled the door open and calmly stepped toward the front desk. Her point of interest, the short black haired male receptionist, sat with his eyes staring blankly at the screen to his left. He remained completely oblivious to her presence until she made a full stop right in front of him.

The teen shifted his attention to her and his eyes widened. On any other day, the two of them were friends. Teammates. But one look between the two of them communicated where they stood.

“Hey Soph…” The receptionist, Leo, sent her a sheepish smile.

She swallowed and took a deep breath. Nerves started to set in the longer she stared at him, and his eyebrows ruffled.

“Do you need something…?”

“Yes,” Sophia cleared her throat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell Bennet to watch the front desk. We need to talk. Privately.”

Leo glanced to the side and tapped on the screen in front of him. “Erm… Alright. I’m sure he’ll be here in a second. Don’t expect him to be happy about it.”

Sophia just shrugged and looked back toward the entrance. She was slowly losing her nerve, but she couldn’t give in now. She’d taken it too far to cower away like usual.

“Alright,” Leo gestured for the two of them to head off down one of the hidden corridors. Most, if not all, of his family occupied this section of the building. He lead her toward the back of the area, but once they got to his suite, they stopped. “Wanna talk inside?”

Sophia glanced around. “Here is fine. It shouldn’t take long.”

“Great,” Leo nodded in her direction. “So… what’s wrong?”

This was it. She took a deep breath to keep her voice calm and her emotions in check. “You were supposed to get some flowers.”

Leo remained confused. “…Is Jasmine still mad at me? I already cooked her dinner last night—“

“No,” Sophia took a deep breath. All of her anger slowly melted away, and all that was left was her raw emotions. She didn’t have time to build a wall around her hurt feelings before Leo’s expression fell. His eyes screamed an apology, and that only made Sophia feel worse.

“You’re not talking about Jas,” Leo swallowed. Sophia turned away and shook her head.

“You promised you would get the flowers for the anniversary,” Sophia managed. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she tried her hardest not to let them fall. “I came to tell you that I bought them this morning.”

“You didn’t go out there all by yourself, did you?” Leo walked around her to maintain eye contact. He opened his arms as a silent invitation for a hug, an offer she would usually refuse, but she accepted—if only to hide the tears that began to fall.

“I haven’t gone yet,” she shook her head. “I can’t do it alone. It’s too…”

“Yeah,” Leo’s voice shook as he held Sophia a little tighter. “How about I call up Jas and the three of us take the flowers out there? They’ll make his headstone look really nice.”

Sophia laughed into Leo’s shirt before letting out a tiny sniff. “You’re gonna make Bennet stay at the front all afternoon?”

“I’m sure he’ll understand.”