He Waited She Wilted (Ottilie and Yorath) novel Chapter 36

It was a peaceful night.

Ottilie woke up precisely at four in the morning.

Yorath was still sleeping soundly beside her, his breathing shallow and even.

After she had drawn that line the night before, they hadn't exchanged another word.

She lay there staring at the ceiling for a long time before finally getting out of bed.

The moment she sat up, Yorath's eyes opened.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"It's fine. Go wash up. I'll make us some breakfast in the kitchen."

As Yorath got out of bed and slipped into his robe, his foot brushed against something on the floor. He leaned down and picked it up.

"A voice recorder?" He looked directly at her.

It was the one she had kept in her pocket; it must have slipped out during the night.

If he pressed the play button right now, he would hear the exact audio of himself bribing her parents with fifty thousand dollars to testify that she was insane.

Ottilie's voice was perfectly calm. "I carry it for self-defense."

Yorath set it down on the nightstand. "Right."

She waited until he walked out the door before grabbing the recorder and tossing it casually into the nightstand drawer.

By the time she finished washing up, he had breakfast ready.

An egg white frittata and hot coffee.

There were dark circles under his eyes; he clearly hadn't slept well.

After eating, she grabbed her bag and headed out, running into Soren, who was dropping off another stack of files.

He gave her a ride to the diner.

That evening, when she returned to the Meridian Villa, she found Yorath and said, "Yorath, you don't need to have Soren deliver things late at night just to drive me. I rode a shared bike back today, and I'll ride one to work tomorrow."

"Alright," he replied.

Ottilie pulled five hundred dollars in cash out of her pocket and held it out to him. "This is to pay you back for my hospital bills."

"I'm not exactly short on cash. Keep it for your own expenses. Pay me back whenever you're financially stable."

He took the bills from her hand, folding them in the exact meticulous way she always did.

Then, he reached over, gently opened her pants pocket, and slid the money back in.

His movements were incredibly precise and perfectly restrained, not brushing against a single inch of her skin.

Ottilie grabbed his wrist and shoved the money back at him. "Yorath, I can't sleep at night knowing I owe you money."

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