Chapter Six — What She Didn't Say
It was supposed to be just another Saturday — chores, sketching, and endless messages between Suwanee Jameson and Michael Delanie. The air in the house smelled of stew, the fan hummed lazily overhead, and Suwanee had dozed off right there in the living room, phone buzzing gently beside her.
That was when her mum picked it up.
She didn't mean to snoop, not really. But the screen was open — a bright conversation staring back at her:
Michael:"If I wasn't a drummer in church, I'd have told you straight how I feel already 😅"
Suwanee:"Who told you you can't say it? Talk your mind na 🙄"
Michael:"You're trouble. Good trouble."
Her mum's heart beat a little faster. She stared for a few more seconds, then quietly locked the screen and set the phone down.
When Suwanee woke up and saw the way her mum was looking at her — calm, quiet, almost too gentle — she knew.
Later, while they folded laundry together in the bedroom, her mum finally spoke.
"I saw your chat with Michael."
Suwanee's hands paused mid-fold. "You… you read it?"
"I didn't plan to. It was just open." Her tone wasn't angry, but there was a heaviness in it.
Suwanee didn't say anything.
Her mum continued, softer now, like she was choosing her words carefully. "Suwanee, listen. I know what it feels like — that first real attention. The butterflies. The way a message can make your whole day."
Suwanee's throat tightened.
Her mum folded another wrapper and sighed. "You're smart. You're talented. You carry fire inside you. I just don't want that fire dimmed by someone who doesn't know what to do with it."
Suwanee looked down, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes.
Then her mum added, almost like a whisper, "Don't give your heart to someone who hasn't even found his own yet."
That was the part that hurt — but it hurt in a good way. Like the kind of pain that makes you stronger.
Suwanee blinked quickly. "Are you… Are you going to tell Daddy?"
Her mum paused. "No. I won't."
And that alone said everything. Because if her father found out — strict, sharp-tongued, no-nonsense Daddy — Suwanee knew she'd be grounded, questioned, maybe even banned from youth fellowship. Her dad didn't play with emotions. To him, feelings were distractions. And boys were danger zones.
"I'll talk to him when it matters," her mum added. "But not now. Just… be wise."
That night, Suwanee barely touched her dinner. Her dad noticed.
"You're quiet," he said, eyes narrow. "Hope you're not chatting your life away with those choir boys."
Suwanee's heart skipped. She forced a smile. "No, Daddy."
"Good," he said. "Your art and your future should be your focus. Anything else, leave it for after university."
She nodded, barely breathing.
Meanwhile, in the Delanie household, Michael wasn't having deep talks with parents. His mum was chopping vegetables and humming worship songs when she glanced at him and said, "That church girl you've been chatting with… does she distract you or inspire you?"
Michael blinked. "What?"
"I see the way you rush home to check your phone these days."
He chuckled nervously. "It's not like that."
His older brother, Caleb, laughed from the hallway. "Just marry her already!"
Michael rolled his eyes but didn't respond. Because secretly… it was kind of like that.
That night, Suwanee stared at the ceiling in her room, her sketchbook forgotten on the floor. Her mum's words echoed in her chest. Her dad's expectations pressed on her like a weight.
She didn't know what she and Michael were.
But whatever it was… it was starting to feel real.
And real things have consequence's