Seeing Sylvia''s image appear on the phone screen, I could hardly contain my excitement. After all these days, I finally got to see her again.


    Sylvia couldn''t hide her excitement as well. But she covered her mouth, put on a serious expression, and scolded me.


    "Hudson, after all this time, you finally decided to call me. I thought you''d forgotten you had a girlfriend."


    Hearing that, I felt helpless and somehow misunderstood.


    Not only did I remember I had a girlfriend, I had also been reminding myself practically every second of it. No matter what Selena said or how she tried to tempt me, I couldn''t bring myself to give in.


    Sometimes, though, I wonder. If I hadn''t met Sylvia, if I hadn''t agreed to be with her, how would things between Selena and me be now?


    "Hudson, let''s get back together. I promise, from now on, I''ll only love you. Trust me."


    Selena''s words weighed heavily on my heart.


    Perhaps sensing that my mood was down, Sylvia put away her stern look and gently asked, "Hudson, when can youe back to Carzonia?"


    "Well, I... I don''t know yet. We are short of staff right now. I''m the leader of this project, so there''s so much to handle that I..." I was too embarrassed to continue lying because I genuinely didn''t know when I would be able to return.


    Selena''s condition was unpredictable. I didn''t know how she was progressing either. Judging by the way things were going, it seemed they wouldn''t let me leave anytime soon.


    "All right, fine, keep working on your project. It''s not like I have to have you by my side. I''m young, after all. I can wait for you toe back." But as she said this, she started tearing up.


    She quickly wiped her tears away, trying to hide her longing for me.


    There are times when I wanted to just tell Sylvia the whole truth, but the thought of Selena and Zion stopped me from doing that.


    I loved Sylvia, and I didn''t want her to get hurt because of me. I didn''t want to drag her into this mess as that would make me an awful person.


    Looking at Sylvia, I sighed and tried to reassure her,."I''ll try to finish it as soon as possible ande back."


    She didn''t respond and quickly found an excuse to end the call.


    I knew it was because she couldn''t hold back her emotions and didn''t want to break down in front of me. I could tell how much she missed me, but sometimes, certain things are best left unsaid, just like with love and rtionship.


    But I was caught in a dead end, and it was hard enough to protect myself. I didn''t have the right to make promises to Selena. More so, I didn''t want her to get disappointedter on.


    As I was getting ready to leave, I saw Zion standing there, looking annoyed.


    He raised his eyes slightly and gave me a cold look. "Selena wants to see you."


    For some reason, I always thought of Sylvia whenever I saw Zion.


    I couldn''t help but feel sorry for Zion. He and Selena used to be so close. He


    boasted about this rtionship to me and tried to push me away. But now...


    I sighed, looked at him, and finally asked the question that had been on my mind since I got back to Adenville.


    "Zion, aren''t you tired of living like this?"