Chapter 1068: A lot of tension in this house

"Good mor... ning?" Finn was in the kitchen when he saw Nina walking out, only to watch her sprinting away. "..."

He watched the front door slam shut, almost as if he could feel Nina’s regret for closing it so forcefully. She didn’t have a lot of money to replace it, after all.

"Hah..." he breathed out, glancing down at the bento box he had made for her. "She didn’t take her lunch with her."

Finn tilted his head slightly to the side and shrugged, closing the lid, planning to take it to her office. And that’s exactly what he did.

****

The day after that...

"Ni —" Finn couldn’t even finish his sentence because Nina was like a tornado, storming out of the house. "..."

Once again, Finn was rendered speechless. He shrugged and closed the lid of her lunch box, planning to take it to her office. After all, Nina didn’t like eating out much—not because she didn’t have the money, but because she said it was better that way.

"Maybe she’s already late," he told himself, glancing at the wall clock, only to see it had just hit six in the morning. "Did she change her schedule?"

Finn shook his head, telling himself not to think too much about it. It wasn’t like she was avoiding him, because whenever she came home, they would still eat together, have a nice chat, and sometimes watch something... albeit, she had to sit far away from him.

*****

Another day passed, and today, Finn woke up at the same time he always did. Today, however, he was changing his approach.

Lying on the small bed that barely fit him, he stared at the ceiling. "She’s still asleep around this time, but... she’s been waking up earlier than usual." His lips curved down, a little concerned about Nina’s recent behavior.

"I’ve been telling myself that everything is alright, but... I’m starting to get concerned." Another shallow breath slipped past his lips. "This is not what I expected when I asked if I could temporarily live at her place."

Finn was aware of Nina’s strong stance on premarital sex, so he wasn’t expecting anything more than a kiss and holding hands. But he didn’t expect her to try to avoid him. This hadn’t happened in their relationship before. So now, he was starting to wonder if she was waking up earlier than him just to avoid any conversation in the morning.

’Did I say something wrong?’ he wondered to himself. ’Or did I touch something of hers that I shouldn’t have?’

Or was it the kiss that night?

After all, this all began that night. That was the first time Nina stormed out of the room and left him. The day after that, she started picking up the habit of avoiding him. And now that he thought about it, even though she still chatted with him, he could feel her creating distance between them.

Pushing himself up, Finn flung his legs out of bed and gazed at the door. "We need to talk," he mumbled to himself before standing up with that thought in mind.

Nina and Finn needed to have a heart-to-heart. Whatever was troubling her, Finn wanted to know. He wanted this relationship to work, and he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. If living with her was a burden for her, then he wouldn’t mind going back to his place. He would miss her, but her comfort and peace were his priority—something he wanted to protect and preserve.

But alas...

"Nina, we need..." Finn trailed off as soon as he knocked on her bedroom door, realizing there wasn’t any movement inside. He knocked again and said, "I’m coming in," only to be met with an empty bed.

"... to talk." He blinked, checking the other areas of her apartment. The place wasn’t big, but it was decent enough for one person... who didn’t mind having enough space.

Nina’s apartment was probably equivalent to two rooms in Finn’s penthouse. In other words, it didn’t take long before Finn realized that the noise he heard earlier wasn’t Nina using the bathroom. It was the sound of her leaving.

Standing in the small living room in front of the front door, Finn shook his head. He glanced at the clock mounted on the wall and sighed heavily.

"Her office is just a twenty-minute ride from here," he muttered to himself. "What’s she going to do at the office at five in the morning?"

Another deep sigh escaped him because now, he knew it wasn’t just his imagination. He wasn’t overthinking it. Nina was avoiding him for some reason. It could be many things, but whatever it was, Nina had a reasonable explanation.

It was his fault.

"Did she make her lunch today?" he wondered, walking back to the kitchen. It only took several steps to reach the kitchen, where he noticed one of the lunch containers was missing. The kitchen was also spotless, with just a slight trace that someone had been there.

"I should pack my things..." Finn trailed off, his brows rising as he noticed a note on the refrigerator door.

She left him a note. It said:

[I’m leaving early today because I have a lot to catch up on. I already prepared lunch and breakfast, so just heat it up if you’re hungry. Don’t exhaust yourself too much. I called someone to clean the house today.

I might come home late, so if you’re sleepy, don’t wait for me!

- Nina]

Finn held the note, tilting his head to the side. After reading it a second time, he checked the fridge, and sure enough, Nina had prepared four different dishes, ready to be reheated—one for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and some snacks.

"I’m confused," he breathed out, his brows knitted tightly. "She avoids me, then tries to have a conversation from a mile away, and then... cooks for me."

Does she want him to leave? Or does she want him to stay?

To be honest, Finn had no idea what was causing this behavior. But he knew that there had been a lot of tension in this house.