"Is that even a question?

", Nobody likes being lied to!, I looked at him, my voice laced with suspicion,

"What, are you planning to trick me later, or have you already pulled a fast one on me?

", He paused, then said,

"...No.

", I couldn't tell if he was being truthful or not, but I made my stance clear anyway,

"Ernest, I won't stand for deception.

", His Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke,

"I understand.

", It's better to set things straight from the get-go. I've made it clear to him now, so if he ever dares to deceive me, he can't blame me for turning the tables on him., The boarding call echoed through the terminal, signaling the departure for an international flight., My thoughts involuntarily drifted to Conrad. Sure enough, a quick glance revealed him pushing his luggage towards security., But what was he doing heading abroad? Business? Or something else...,

"Licia, we should head to security,

" Ernest's voice pulled me back to reality.,

"Oh!

" I replied, turning to him., I felt a twinge of guilt, worried he'd notice my gaze lingering on Conrad, even though my interest was purely platonic now., But Ernest's face revealed nothing, which only made me feel more uneasy and guilty. So, I reached out and took his hand,

"Let's go.

", We made it through security and boarded the plane without issue., Right before powering off my phone, I noticed an unread message from Conrad:

"Safe travels.

", These words reminded me of the times he'd be away on business trips, and I'd send him the same message., Then one day, Conrad mocked me,

"Your message is so outdated. Next time, come up with something fresh, or don't bother sending anything at all.

" After that, I stopped sending them., Safe travels! Though the words were old-fashioned, they represented my deepest wish., After my parents' car accident, goodbyes to those close to me became my greatest fear-I worried they might be permanent., But he never understood the sentiment behind my words, even found them annoying, so I saw no point in continuing., Yet now, he chose these words for me., I decided to ignore the message and turned off my phone. Ernest had already switched his off, lost in thought., I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Ernest, safe travels.

", He smiled, rubbing his cheek against my hair,

"Safe travels.

",

"Ernest, there's something I haven't told you,

" I'm not one to keep things bottled up, but there are things I didn't want to hide from him either., I expect honesty from him, so I owe him the same.,

"Mm, you don't have to say it if you don't want to,

" Ernest said, not wanting to pressure me., But I scoffed,

"But I want to say it now.

",

"Then I'm all ears.

", His response nearly made me laugh,

"Ernest, do you know what you remind me of?

",

"What?

",

"A Weeble. You just don't tip over, no matter what,

" I said, making him smirk slightly.,

"That's not true. If you really wanted me down, I'd go down willingly,

" Ernest said, looking at me., His gaze was serious yet playful, and it suddenly made me think of that indescribable night we shared., Search the website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.