No More Waiting, She Chooses Love

Ernest and I stood silently by the lakeside, the sound of the wind stirring the water our only companion. But after a while, I started to feel a bit restless. My legs were beginning to ache from standing so long. "What's up?" Ernest asked, his voice laced with concern.

"Just looking for a spot to sit down. My legs are getting sore from standing," I admitted, not bothering to mask my discomfort.

Ernest scanned our surroundings briefly before, quite unexpectedly, he scooped me up in his arms and headed towards a large rock nearby. Though I was used to his habit of picking me up on a whim, I couldn't help but feign a shy protest, "I can walk on my own, you know."

"Didn't you just say your legs are sore? How do you plan to walk?" he countered, a playful edge to his voice.

I stuck my tongue out at him and chose to remain silent after that.

He carefully placed me down and then took a seat himself. Just as I was about to snuggle next to him, he extended his arm, pulled me in, and placed me on his lap.

What was he up to now?

Before I could ponder any further, he whispered in my ear, "The rock's cold."

Could there be a boyfriend more thoughtful than Ernest?

Perhaps, but to me, he was irreplaceable.

"Thank you, boyfriend," I said, tilting my head to plant a kiss on his cheek as a token of my gratitude.

But the moment my lips touched his, I sensed something was off a faint hint of tobacco invaded my breath, freezing my actions.

Ernest had been smoking!

So, he came to the lake to smoke by himself.

My halted kiss must have tipped him off because he murmured softly, "I'll quit. Today will be the last time."

I shook my head, "You don't have to."

He looked into my eyes, his gaze deeper than the night enveloping us.

I reached up to caress his face, "I don't mind the smoking. Just don't overdo it. It's bad for your health."

Suddenly, my nose tingled with

emotion as thoughts of my parents' accident invaded my mind, "Ernest, you're the closest person to me now. So, you need to take care of yourself and stay healthy, for both of us."

Life seemed impossibly long, yet I found myself filled with hope.

He swallowed hard.

The topic of my parents led my

thoughts to their accident report et

realized I hadn't gone through it entirely, skipping the analysis and

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"Ernest, did you check the report on my parents' accident?" I asked, nestled against him.

He tightened his embrace, taking a moment before responding softly, "Let's not bring up the past." Thinking he was concerned about me being scared again, I said, "I'm not as frightened anymore."

Despite saying that, the thought of those pictures made me shudder, so I pressed him, "Tell me, please."

"Tell you what?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"What was the conclusion about my parents' accident?"

Ernest fell silent, causing my heart to skip a beat. I looked up at him, "Why won't you talk? Was there something wrong with the conclusion?"

He met my gaze, his own eyes trembling.

I took a deep breath, "Ernest."

"It was an issue with the car itself."

Hearing this, I frowned slightly, "What kind of issue?"