Could you please stop making wild assumptions? Linsey forced herself to meet his cold stare, determined to defend her actions. I wasn t trying to provoke you. Why would I go out of my way to make you angry?

Collin offered no answer. His eyes, impossible to read, remained locked on her face, making it impossible to guess his thoughts.

The longer his silence dragged on, the more uneasy she became. Fingers knotted into the fabric of her shirt, betraying her nerves.

The room grew heavier with every second, the quiet almost suffocating, until Collin finally moved.

Not bothering with a word, he spun his wheelchair and rolled toward the door. Watching him go, Linsey called out on instinct, Hey! Where are you off to?

He shot a glance back, his voice flat as stone. I m going to change my pants.

Bitterness lingered in his tone, as if the day had dealt him a losing hand. When it hit her that he wasn t going to lash out, Linsey couldn t help but knit her brows.

This wasn t what she had been aiming for at all.

If she wanted any hope of success, she would have to push her luck even further.

Soft words slipped from her lips as she scanned the room, plotting her next move.

Collin returned a few minutes later, opening the door to see Linsey bent over a mop, cleaning the floor.

A small smile flashed as she glanced up. You re back, she greeted, making as if to approach him.

But her foot found a wet patch, and in a split second, she pitched forward, falling hard before she could catch herself.

A sudden crash rang out.

In a single motion, Linsey toppled onto the desk, sending the laptop and a stack of papers tumbling to the floor in a jumbled heap.

For a moment, nothing moved. The clatter faded, replaced by a tense silence.

g ? Ǧ s?com has it all

Linsey scrambled up before Collin could even react, pretending to be flustered. I m really sorry. I noticed coffee stains everywhere and wanted to clean up, but I made things worse and ended up breaking your laptop.

Blank-faced, Collin stared at her. Whether he bought her story or not was impossible to tell.

Instead of meeting his gaze, Linsey ducked to the floor, fussing with the mess as if she were too overwhelmed to look up. Secretly, her main concern was the laptop.

Despite the chaos, the device wasn t completely wrecked just a couple of cracks spread across the screen.

Wiping the coffee away, she tried to hoist the laptop back onto the table, using only one hand.

The weight seemed to catch her off guard. With a dull thump, the laptop slipped from her grasp, landing right in front of Collin.

That final fall proved too much. Broken pieces were scattered, one skidding all the way to his feet.

Collin s gaze dropped to the floor, then snapped up again, his tone frosty. Linsey, did you do that on purpose?

Her denial came fast, head shaking side to side. No, I didn t.

He wasn t convinced. Then why did it have to fall right in front of me?

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