No Escape from Love novel Chapter 171

"Serena!" Patricia ran over and patted me on my shoulder.

I was still lost in my dilemma, and the sudden jolt startled me. My hand twitched, and before I knew it, I had accidentally hit the send button.

Staring at the screen which showed that the message had already been successfully sent, my mind went completely blank. I turned to Patricia with a forced smile. "Patricia, you'd better have a really good reason for this. Otherwise, you're gonna get it from me."

She froze. "W-Well… It's nothing urgent. If you're busy, I… I can just ask someone else."

I heard the notification for a new message. I picked up my phone and saw that it was from Alex. He had accepted my invitation.

Instantly, my mood flipped from stormy to clear skies. When I looked at Patricia again, my expression had softened into one of benevolent kindness. "Alright, maybe it's not that serious. What did you need?"

"Oh." She eyed me cautiously as she handed me some documents. "It's just this data here… I don't really understand it."

"No problem," I said with a smile. "I'll send you the breakdown in an email later."

She blinked in confusion before turning to leave. She suddenly spun back around after taking a few steps. "Serena, are you dating someone?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Then… are you hitting menopause early? These mood swings can't be good for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you not have work to do?"

That one sentence shattered my carefully maintained confidence.

I dragged my feet downstairs and spotted Alex's car, which was parked by the entrance. Before I came out, he had been watching the door intently, but the moment I stepped outside, his gaze casually drifted elsewhere.

I hurried into the car. "I got caught up with something at the office. Have you been waiting long?"

"I just got here," he said smoothly. Then, with a straight face, he added, "Judging by that serious look on your face, are you worried I'll eat you into bankruptcy?"

Whenever he lied, he had a habit of changing the subject with random comments. That habit hadn't changed since we were kids. Suddenly, my thoughts were all over the place.

"Don't worry," he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "We're eating at my place tonight. Lilian's cooking is excellent."