?<strong>Chapter 873:</strong>


    Dulce blinked, startled by the sincerity in his tone. She didn’t believe he was making empty promises, and that terrified her. The more he acted this way, the deeper she felt herself falling for him.


    She realized she needed to leave before she lost herselfpletely. “I want to go home.”


    Michael stepped back, opening the car door behind her. “I’ll take you.”


    “There’s no need.”


    “I insist,” Michael said with a smile. “After all, I was the one who brought you to my ce.”


    Dulce sighed, realizing that if she didn’t agree, Michael might keep debating her here indefinitely.


    Reluctantly, she climbed into the passenger seat, but as they started driving, she couldn’t resist asking, “It was always Lacey sitting here, wasn’t it?”


    Michael didn’t react with frustration; instead, he nodded quietly, his expression unreadable.


    They drove in silence for a while, passing several traffic lights before finding themselves stuck on an overpass.


    Michael gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other resting nervously by his side, before breaking the silence. “Do you want to know about her?”


    Dulce turned to look at him.


    Michael avoided her gaze, ncing out the window, his free hand idly scratching at his jawline where stubble might grow.


    It was clear he had thought about this conversation for a long time, though he tried to y it off casually.


    Dulce could see through his attempt, understanding his intention to ease her difort. “Yes.”


    Michael met her gaze. “Are you sure? I know it might not be what you want to hear, but I don’t want to hide anything from you. I figure imagining how strong my feelings for her were would be worse than me just telling you outright, right?”


    Dulce thought about his words. No woman would enjoy hearing about the love her partner once had for someone else.


    But Michael’s openness softened the sting in her heart.


    Instead of dwelling on her difort, she turned to the window, staring out at the tangled mess of cars and pedestrians below. “There’s probably no one else you’ve ever talked to about this, is there? If you want to share, go ahead.”


    Michael cast a quick nce at Dulce as the light turned green. The car eased forward, and after a brief pause, he began speaking about Lacey.


    “She used to sit in this seat all the time, munching on snacks and propping her feet up like it was her personal lounge. She’d always insist on connecting her ylist to the car’s Bluetooth.”


    Dulce let out a soft huff. “That’s not too different from me. My brother’s cars are all taken over by my ylists too.”


    “There’s a difference,” Michael replied with a faint smile. “She was into heavy metal rock. I’m guessing that’s not your style?”


    “No, not really. But what about you? Did you like it?”


    Michael shook his head slightly. “It’s too loud, too chaotic. I never understood what she loved about it.”


    Dulce tilted her head, studying his face. “Did you two argue about stuff like that?”


    .


    .


    .