Page 107 of Reflections of Peonies
“I want to quit school.”
I blinked, stunned. That wasn’t what I’d expected. I thought she’d complain about Bryce again.
It wasn’t until she shifted nervously that I realized I hadn’t responded. “Why?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. After all her lectures about my classes, why would she suddenly want to drop out? “Did something happen today?”
We’d expected she might receive more attention, and we’d done our best to accommodate our schedules around hers. And when none of us were near, Kasai followed her. All the professors had gotten a memo informing them she was married to Bryce, and rumors had spread across campus already. No one should have been bold enough to give her any trouble.
Maybe we’d missed something?
“I’m sorry,” Bianca murmured, avoiding my gaze. “I know you had this whole plan, but I don’t know what I want to do anymore. I’ve been on edge all day. I don’t think I’m ready to come back.”
I was taken aback. I’d thought she might be frustrated with Bryce, but not this. “I thought you wanted to work in research?” I asked gently, my concern deepening. I wanted to comfort her, but I had to be careful. Damen said that even a simple touch could trigger her.
Bianca’s shoulders tensed.
“Hey,” I said softly. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want. You have the rest of your life.”
She looked at me with relief, and I reached out carefully. She wrapped her small fingers around my wrist and held my hand between hers. “Are you angry?” she asked.
Had I misheard her? “Why would I be angry?”
If she wanted to take a break from school, it washerdecision. It had nothing to do with me.
“Because you wanted to tutor me in French,” she whispered, looking away. The guilt in her expression twisted my heart. “Even before deciding this, I was thinking about switching to Chinese. Who cares what Damen says? He isn’t my boss.”
“Chinese?” I was surprised. It was far more complex than French, though perhaps not for us.
She nodded, biting her lip. “Damen said that when I remember more about my past lives, I’ll understand it.”
“So, Damen thinks you can’t take Chinese because it’scheating,” I said, nodding. I tried to hide my smile. This kind of argument was familiar. “Well, technically, he’s right. But he’s the only one who cares. He’s just jealous.”
“What?” she asked, blinking her large, innocent hazel eyes at me.
She didn’t know what that look could do to a man. She could ask me never to eat a pastry again, and I would agree.
I almost forgot what we were talking about. But then she tilted her head, and clarity hit me.
She was waiting for an answer. I could daydream later.
“Damen took Spanish,” I replied, focusing on my breathing.
Now it was worse! Her scent was everywhere. She smelled like spring: roses and freshly turned earth. My skin prickled, and I fought against the urge to pull her to me.
“Damen’s dad pushes him to learn new things, not to rely on past lives. We’ll only remember fragments of old languages. Our first life holds the most power,” I explained. “Nobody cares what we study. I’ve taken both French and Chinese. Julian took Chinese. Titus studied…” My words trailed off as I tried to recall. He focused on so many different things that I usually ignored him.
Wasn’t he finishing another doctorate? Geology?
Show-off.
“What did Titus study?” she asked.
“Spanish this time,” I muttered, “but he’s into languages for fun. He knows Arabic and Japanese and is obsessed with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.”
Bianca’s eyes widened. “He studies languages for fun? Who does that?”
“Weird people,” I muttered. “Overachievers.” Did she not realize that Titus was a total nerd? When he wasn’t busy with work, he was either tinkering with machines or buried in library books.
I spent my time in the library with a purpose. My environmental advocacy firm needed to launch, and I was determined to make a difference.
