Self

Chapter 87

“I know you’re in there. Open up, okay? We need to talk.

“Yara! Are you listening?

“Really, Yara? You won’t open the door? You think that’ll stop me?”

Yale’s emotions swung from hope to calm to boiling anger. As he was about to walk away, defeated, he locked eyes with someone unexpected.

He stopped dead in his tracks, his frown deepening.

Wade stood in the dimly lit stairwell. He looked like he had just climbed up to that floor, and it did not take a genius to figure out why he was there.

After the drama with Shane and now Wade’s sudden appearance, Yale’s annoyance flared, but it also dawned on him that the guys circling Yara were not ordinary guys he could quickly deal with.

Once he cooled off, Yale dug into Wade’s background and discovered he was the third son of the Shelton family. That explained why even Shane seemed wary around him.

“Here to see Yara?” Yale asked, his voice steady.

Wade’s reply was nonchalant. “Does it matter to you?”

“You know what’s up between her and me, right?”

“And your point is?”

Yale squinted. “If you had any sense, you’d back off from her.”

“Too bad I’m pretty well–known for not having any.”

“Yara’s mine! She always has been; she’s just in a mood right now, and she’ll be mine and only mine forever.”

Wade scowled. “She’s a person, not a possession. She doesn’t belong to you.”

Yale let out a cold laugh. “Professor Shelton, you’ve read many books, but you don’t get women at all. I only hate as much as I’ve loved.

“Yara’s only this mad because she’s crazy about me. Don’t believe me? Go ahead, knock on her door.

“She won’t open it for you either. So quit pining for what’s not yours. It’s a waste of

time.”

Yale brushed past him and headed down the stairs with long strides.

Wade watched him go. Then his gaze drifted to Yara’s front door, his brow furrowing in thought.

He knew that Yara would not open the door for him. Actually, she would not open it for anyone.

She was not even home.

The Maldives was where the sky was a canvas of blue, the clouds of the purest white, and the waves sang their endless song.

The crystal–clear waters revealed the fish below.

The sun’s embrace was warm, the breeze tender and the waves kissed the shore with gentle lips.

Three days back, Yara got a call from Rainie

Her big project was done. The young man she was hanging out with had returned to his hometown for the holidays, and after two days of hiding under the covers at home, bored out of her mind, she decided to whisk Yara away on an impromptu

adventure.

“As for where…” Rainie pondered, chin in hand. “What about the Maldives?”

Yara took all of two seconds to decide. “Sure, let’s do it.”

Yara needed a break from the chaos Shane and Yale had stirred up, but she also wanted some downtime.

She loved books and diving deep into her studies, but Yara knew that being wound up too tight was no good. A little chill time, a mix of hard work and play, was the secret to keeping it together for the long haul.

At that moment, with the endless blue ocean and the clear sky in view, Yara lounged on a beach chair, the sound of waves crashing on the rocks playing like music to her ears. With the sun’s warm embrace, she was sure she had made the right call coming here.

She grabbed her mango juice and took a sip it was not too sweet, not too bland, just the way she liked it.

A short distance away, Rainie strutted across the sand.

When she spotted Yara, she flopped onto the next chair and stretched out. “Ah, this

is life. You’ve got the right idea about kicking back.”