Chapter 55: Too Grown for Sweet Talk

By this age, I was long past believing in love just because someone said the right words. Still, whenever my parents called, urging me to settle down, I couldn't bear to make them worry anymore. Maybe it was time to find a decent man and get married. I had already wasted seven years of my life on Julian Shepherd. How many seven-year stretches does a woman get? Most of my old classmates were married with kids. Even Naomi had a boyfriend now. I was the only one still alone. Sometimes, that kind of loneliness felt unbearable. There wasn't anyone I could talk to about the things that weighed on my heart. I didn't hope for a fairy-tale romance anymore. I just wanted someone reliable, someone who would listen when I felt down. Once I made up my mind, I started thinking about having a conversation with Arthur. He had made it clear from the beginning that he only wanted a physical relationship, but this couldn't go on forever. Just then, the sound of the water in the bathroom stopped. A moment