The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Anastasia sat on the hardwood floor, hugging her knees, as time slipped by in slow, silent drops.

Her legs were numb, but the weight in her chest had finally started to ease. The storm inside her was quieting, little by little.

Suddenly, a flash of light flickered across the window. Fireworks?

Who on earth sets off fireworks this late?

Curiosity pulled her to her feet. She crept over to the window and peeked out- then nearly doubled over with laughter.

There, in the backyard, was Herman, waddling around in a fat, puffy orange mascot suit. He looked like a giant tangerine come to life, straight out of a cartoon. In each hand, he clutched a sparkler, waving them around and sending showers of sparks into the night.

He glanced up, caught her watching, and lit up with the goofiest, brightest grin.

As the last sparkler fizzled out, Herman-still in his absurd orange getup-broke into a dance. Not just any dance, either: this was full-on preschooler mode. He made heart shapes with his arms, spun in wobbly circles, kicked his feet, flapped his arms, and wiggled his behind.

Anastasia had never seen this side of him. She felt her throat close up, her eyes sting. This was all for her-just to make her smile.

Then, out of nowhere, Herman tripped and toppled over. Anastasia's heart jumped, but before she could even call out, he'd tucked his arms and legs inside the suit, turning himself into a perfect, oversized orange. And then—he started rolling around the grass.

She let out a snort, then burst into helpless laughter, tears streaming down her face.

Herman came to a stop, sprawled on the lawn with his limbs sticking out. If she squinted, he looked more like a turtle than the CEO of a tech company.

Still on the ground, he struck a series of silly, cutesy poses, flapping his arms and making faces, determined to keep her laughing.

Who could imagine that the big boss of Elysian Technologies would be out here in the middle of the night, making a complete fool of himself just to see his wife smile?

But when Herman saw her laughing, it was all worth it.

After a minute, he pulled his arms and legs back into the costume and went completely still. From Anastasia's window, it looked like a giant orange had sprouted in the backyard.

She waited a few minutes, but he didn't move. Curiosity won out. She hurried downstairs and out the door, crouching beside the orange mascot.

She poked the squishy surface. “Hey, you asleep in there?"

The giant orange suddenly rolled in a circle around her. Then, like a magician, Herman's head popped out of the top, a flower between his teeth. He wiggled his eyebrows, looking ridiculously pleased with himself.

He gave a dramatic shake of his head, and the flower disappeared. Then he puffed out his cheeks and, with a silly burp, spat out a handful of colorful jelly beans-like some sort of human candy dispenser.

Anastasia's eyes went wide. She poked at a jelly bean, grinning. "Seriously, Herman? Since when do you do magic tricks? How'd you pull that off?"

She picked up a jelly bean-yep, it was real. "Are you secretly a PEZ machine? Emmie and Nancy would lose their minds if they saw this."

Herman had set off fireworks, danced around in a giant orange suit, and conjured up candy-all just to lift her spirits.

She hadn't laughed like this since... well, since everything changed. This was the first time she'd genuinely smiled, deep down, in ages.

Just for a moment, the pain faded. All that was left was happiness.

Herman finally wriggled out of the costume and plopped down cross-legged in the

grass, looking more like a giant teddy bear than a high-powered exec.

He looked up at her, his eyes soft and full of mischief. "This is my secret weapon. Can't let it out of the bag for just anyone. From now o Pon, it's only for you. Emmie and Nancy'll have to wait their turn."

His gentle, teasing gaze made her heart melt, bit by bit.

Anastasia couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, pulling a flower out of thin air

is one thing; but how'd you do the

jelly beans? Did you eat a candet

machine or something? Open up, let me see-did you swallow a packet of laundry pods?"

Herman chuckled, his voice warm and low, and ruffled her hair. "God, you're adorable. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Come on, open your mouth. I want to see!" For once, she wasn't thinking about

her worries-she just wanted to know his secret.

Herman obediently opened his mouth wide. She leaned in, peering inside.noveldrama

"Nope... doesn't smell like detergent. I don't see any tricks, either."

He grinned. "Look a little closer."

She leaned in—and suddenly, his lips brushed hers.

It had been so long since she'd let herself get close to him. The warmth and softness of his lips made her dizzy, made her ache—just for a

second before reality crashanet

down, and she pushed him away, trembling. “Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

How could he touch her? After everything that had happened... what if she was

still contagious? What if she ended up hurting him?