Chapter 20 Just A Friend

• A week and two days passed in a blur.
• It was Monday. Work had finally resumed, and today was the big day—the art auction I’d been planning for weeks. I was supposed to go to the studio early to help set things up and make sure everything was perfect.
• Arzhel hadn’t spoken to me since the night he proposed and I said no. He’d been keeping his distance—cold, polite, and quiet. Maybe that was for the best, but still, the silence between us sat heavy.