Claudia cleared her throat and, with a cool expression, opened the door.
Her face instantly changed when she saw Gideon standing on her doorstep. "Gideon, what are you doing here?"
Gideon stood there holding several boxes of nutritional supplements. Dressed in a turtleneck and a high-quality, long overcoat, his tall, lean frame exuded a kind of understated luxury, like a scion from a prominent family who’d just stepped out of a government office.
He glanced past her into the apartment. "Claudia, I’ve given it some serious thought, and I feel I must come and apologize to your parents and explain everything properly."
Before Gideon could finish, Claudia panicked.
She reached out, yanked him inside, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
Gideon set the supplements down. "Are your parents home?" he asked.
Claudia clutched her chest, thinking, Thank God, they're not.
She pointed a finger at her own head, her expression dead serious. "Gideon, I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions. You don't need to go to my parents."
Gideon stood before her, his expression sincere and his tone gentle. "I was the one who insisted you go abroad for your fellowship. I failed to take care of you, and on top of that, I... took advantage of you. I should be the one to confess and apologize to your parents."
The memory of that chaotic night made Claudia flush with a mix of anxiety and shame. "Gideon, don't say another word!"
"We were both drunk that night," she insisted. "It was an accident. Gideon, just pretend it never happened. I won't hold you responsible. From now on, neither of us is ever to mention it again. And you need to stop overthinking it."
Gideon looked troubled.
"Claudia," he said, "I may be a few years older than you, but I've never been in a relationship, let alone been with another woman. That was my first time. It's not something I can just forget because you tell me to."
Claudia was speechless.
"Claudia, I'm a traditional man," Gideon added.
Again, silence.
She had always seen Gideon as a steady, reserved person. She never imagined he could discuss such intimate matters so calmly, without even a hint of a blush.

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