Standing Right Next To You - Chapter 384

“No, your face is amazing as always.” She scoffed begrudgingly that he appeared flawless even without bothering to maintain himself and his appearance.

Whereas she would have to apply a multitude of skincare products to maintain that youthful and make up free glowing look on her face.

‘I forgot to apply skincare last night!’ Her eyes widened when this sudden thought popped up in her mind.

“Your mind is wandering again. Where did you drift away to?” Reuben’s question dragged her back from her unexpected deviation.

“Ahem…” She coughed to hide her awkwardness as she had truly drifted away in a skincare panic from which he had pulled her back.

Her expressions quickly reverted to the suspecting face which she had aimed at the man who was sitting beside her and had his arm around her shoulder.

“How do you know those terms?” She interrogated him with narrowed eyes.

‘Those terms?’ Reuben wondered what she was talking about.

Noticing the confusion on his face, Lina decided to point him in the right direction.

“White lotus and green tea.” She repeated her earlier words to wash away his confusion.

This made the man utter an ‘Ahh’ sound as he nodded at her, admitting the words she had used just now.

‘I need to explain those words to Wade and Wayne every time I use them in our conversations so how did he know about them?’ Lina pondered about what the explanation for this could be.

However, the answer she heard from him made her eyes widen and her jaw drop in bafflement.

“You read romance novels!!?” She yelled out in surprise at what his answer was.

Reuben winced when her loud scream assaulted his ear due to the lack of distance between them.

The woman realized that she had overreacted and grimaced when she saw his pained face.

“You took me by surprise! I am so sorry!” She clamored, worried about the condition of his ears.

She had delicate ears so she knew exactly how much an earache could hurt so she was apologetic that she had caused the same ache to someone else.

“I’m alright and yes, I did read a novel once…” He began his explanation to curb the curiosity and shock that had risen in his Kitten’s mind.

Reuben retold the incident when Wade had revealed that she loved novels and would read them at all times.

“Isn’t that the day we officially began dating?” She reminisced and a smile appeared on her lips.

A prompt yet swift kiss landed on her lips before the giver of the said kiss sat back in his previous position.

“Yes, that day I had come over to Obsidia to find out about the things that you liked and disliked.” He revealed the truth of what had taken place before she arrived at Wade’s office and misunderstood them.

‘I thought that they were a couple…’ She chuckled sheepishly when she recalled the brave statements she had made that day.

Reuben pushed away the thoughts of the french kiss they had on that day and narrated what he and Wade had discussed.

He also spoke of how he had read the first ten chapters of one top romance novel on the app she used.

“That is why I know what those terms mean.” He ended his narration and sighed.

“I’m sorry that I could not continue reading that novel, Kitten. I tried to ignore its absurd plot and continue anyway but my logical reasoning couldn’t stand it any longer.” He muttered in a low voice, indicating that he was disappointed with his performance.

Lina cupped his cheeks and shook her head, refusing his words of apology.

“My novels are not everyone’s cup of tea, Ruby but I am happy that you tried it out just to connect better with me.” She recognized and praised the efforts he had put in to get closer to her.

Reuben had an overjoyed look on his face as everything that he had done was to strengthen his relationship with her.

Out of nowhere, Lina began chuckling which confused the man sitting next to her.

“What is it?” He inquired and saw that she pointed towards her phone.

“I was reading the same novel before I heard you coming into the suite.” She disclosed and snickered when she noticed the guarded look on his face.

‘It wasn’t all that bad! He is just prejudiced against it due to its wobbly start.’ She defended the work of art which she had discovered while scouring the net one day.

This novel, she regarded as a ‘Hidden Gem’ and was reluctant to speak against it when she saw his awkward face.

“Where did you stop reading it?” She inquired, guessing that he had stopped before the good parts of the story which was the reason for his hesitancy.

Reuben tried to recall the weird and bland storyline he had read and sighed before narrating it to her.

Lina listened to his words attentively and nodded every time he paused to think of what happened next in the story.

Once he had completed his side of the story, she blinked at him as though he was the weirdest man on this planet.

“What now?” He grumbled when he saw her staring at him, making him think that he had done something wrong.

“You stopped before it got to the good part!” She scowled at his impatience and defended her dog blood plot which he had mocked without restraint.

‘Kitten truly has the stomach for this stuff which I do not…’ He decided and was worried what her reaction would be if he told her about it.

Noticing his strange behavior, Lina took it upon herself to show her boyfriend what he had been missing out on.

“Here!” She passed him her phone and took over his phone which he had placed on the coffee table before the couch.

While Reuben observed what she was doing, his eyes glimpsed at the screen in his hand and his jaw dropped at what he read.

“Let us roleplay the latest scene from the novel!” She announced and clapped her hands in exclamation while he was reading the contents visible on the screen.