No Escape from Love

I was curled up under the blankets when I grabbed my phone from beside my

pillow, only to find a bombardment of messages from Lila.

"I got Lawrence's contact info! He agreed to have lunch with us! Weren't you trying to reach him? Hurry up, hurry up! We'll meet at that new Western restaurant at Century Plaza at noon.

"Oh my god, don't tell me you're still sleeping! ANSWER ME!!!"

I shot up in bed instantly, wide awake.

I fired back a string of exclamations to express my excitement and then quickly typed. "You're amazing! I'll be there at noon for sure!"

Jumping out of bed, I washed up and threw on a light layer of makeup to cover up my dark circles from staying up late.

Hearing all the commotion, Mom groggily peeked out of her room in her pajamas. "What's going on so early in the morning? Why are you so excited?"

"Nothing. I just have to go out for a bit," I replied vaguely, already thinking about what excuse I'd use later when I met Lawrence.

I sent Mom the address of the new apartment, telling her to pack up the essentials and head over in the afternoon.

She hesitated. "Are you sure you can move everything by yourself this afternoon? Don't you need my help?"

I froze.

She had a point. Even though we didn't have a lot of stuff, it was still the

belongings of two people. There was no way I could handle it all alone, let alone move everything.

I took a deep breath and sent Lila a message. "What time is lunch with him again?"

She replied almost instantly. "12:00 pm! Why?"

I glanced at the clock. It was only a little after 9:00 am, so there was still plenty of time before noon. I might as well help Mom pack now so that we could move everything in the afternoon. I could then still make it to lunch with Lawrence.

"Nothing. I just have to pack up my stuff first. See you at noon!" I texted back.

Then, I got to my room and started packing. Clothes, shoes, bags, makeup-one by one, I packed everything neatly.

There wasn't that much as I wasn't the type to shop excessively. By the time I finished packing my things, it was already past 10:00 am.

I walked over to Mom's room and knocked on the door. "Mom, let me help you pack your stuff."

She opened the door and looked surprised to see my suitcase already packed. "You finished so fast?"

"Yeah, there wasn't much," I said, stepping inside to help her sort through her belongings.noveldrama

She had more things than I did-mostly clothes and everyday essentials. As we packed, I made small talk. "Mom, what do you think about the new place?"

"It's nice. Way better than where we

are now,

she said with a smile. "But

you've been handling everything on . It must be exhausting for

"It's no big deal," I said lightly. "I can manage. I just don't want you to wear

yourself out."

She smiled but didn't say anything.