Love Me Back (Amelia and Daniel) novel Chapter 145

Amelia returned to her dorm, glanced at the calendar on her desk, and counted—twenty days left.

Only twenty days until she could finally stop seeing him, and maybe her heart would stop aching.

Following her doctor’s orders, Amelia lay down and promptly fell asleep—for two straight days.

She drifted in and out of sleep, only getting up to grab a bite in the dining hall before returning to her room, thumbing through some sleep-inducing textbooks, and dozing off again.

By the third day, Amelia realized that if she kept this up, she’d probably turn into a ghost. She rubbed her temples, dragged herself out of bed, pulled her suitcase out from under the bed, and started packing.

Taylor called to check in on her progress. Amelia sat in the middle of a pile of random odds and ends, thinking there wasn’t much to prepare—just a few changes of clothes. She had no attachments, no baggage. The only thing that mattered was making sure she was physically and emotionally ready for whatever came next.

Taylor agreed but added, “Your brilliant mind is your greatest asset, but don't forget your old notebooks and important files. You’ll need those, too.”

Most of Amelia’s research was already at the base, but she did remember a few old notes back at Emerald Meadows. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided she had to go back one more time.

When she arrived at Emerald Meadows, she didn’t head up right away. Instead, she waited downstairs for a bit.

She’d timed it just right—the housekeeper left with her reusable shopping bag, heading out for groceries at the usual hour.

Amelia waited until the coast was clear before letting herself in. It wasn’t that she was sneaking around; she just didn’t want to cause trouble. If the housekeeper knew she was back, she’d almost certainly tell Daniel, and Amelia had no intention of running into him—she just wanted to grab her things and go.

She’d barely started cleaning up when she heard the soft shuffle of slippers in the hallway.

Her mind went blank. By the time she realized she should have closed the door, it was already too late.

A hand with long, elegant fingers pressed against the doorframe. Daniel stood there in rumpled pajamas, clearly just out of bed, his eyes still heavy with sleep. He glanced up, meeting Amelia’s wide-eyed stare.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Daniel smiled—a lazy, crooked smile, breathy with amusement and still rough from sleep. “Am I still dreaming,” he murmured, “or are you really here?”