Chapter 27
“Jess, you want me to seduce Sebastian and make him fall for me, so that no one can interfere with you and Cameron anymore, right? Don’t worry, that’s simple. Do you remember that time I got drunk at a bar and kept clinging to him, trying to get him to sleep with me? He definitely remembers that
“Now that you’re with Cameron, Sebastian must be feeling horrible. If I show up, he’ll be putty in my hands. Of course, I’ll pretend I don’t know anything about your past with him. Leave it to me and don’t worry. There’s no way I’ll let him ruin things between you and Cameron.”
As I listened to Selena’s voice in the recording, my limbs went cold, as if the blood had drained from my body. It’s no wonder that, no matter how often Jessica showed up, Selena never once asked me about my past with her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know. She already knew everything.
For the past few years, I had seen Jessica as the light of my life. But in the end, her actions had only been because of a bet. The light in my life went out, leaving behind an oppressive darkness that almost consumed me.
For the past few months, I had seen Selena as the hope that sparked in the grey shadows of my life. But in the end, it was all just another lie.
I thought the fire would burn brighter and brighter, but it was snuffed out in the most cruel way possible. From beginning to end, I was nothing more than a puppet in someone else’s show.
My chest tightened, as if a giant hand had seized my heart and squeezed it to a halt.
At the sound of the commotion, Selena rushed out of the kitchen with a spoon in hand.
She stared at Jessica in disbelief. “Jess, what…”
Then, she turned her gaze to me, her eyes red and lips trembling. Though waves of pain twisted deep inside me, I remained still and watched her silently.
Without turning away, I addressed Jessica, who was behind me, “Go back for now. Lena and I will handle this ourselves.”
“Alright.”
I didn’t notice the faint curve of Jessica’s lips as she turned to leave.
I stared at Selena and waited for her to speak.
After a long while, she finally spoke with a trembling voice, “Seb, I did say those things, but not all of it is true.”
I didn’t respond.
The sound of soup bubbling in the kitchen became a distant hum as we just stood there, silently locked in each other’s gaze. With each breath, the vulnerability in her eyes seemed to grow, silently spilling over as her red- rimmed eyes filled with tears.
“I noticed you from the second year of middle school, and when I found out you knew Jess, do you know how happy I was? But it seemed like you forgot about me. You only ever had eyes for her. Jess is my best friend. For so many years, I couldn’t express iny feelings and kept them to myself. When Jess came to me, I was so happy. I could finally be around you openly.”
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. “Do you believe me, Seb?”
It wasn’t about belleving or not believing. My mind was in turmoil.
1/2
Chapter 27
I didn’t want to make any decisions in the heat of the moment. It wouldn’t be good for any of us.
1 looked at her and softly said, “Right now, none of us are thinking clearly. It wouldn’t be good for us to make any decisions in this state. Let’s take some time alone to cool down.”
Selena lowered her gaze, taking off her apron. “Okay. I’ll head back now and will wait for your response.
As the door closed, an unknown wave of emotion hit me, and my eyes began to burn with the sting of unshed tears.
The next day, I took leave from work and stayed home the whole day. That day, neither Jessica nor Selena bothered me. Later that evening, Selena sent a message, saying she would be going on a week–long business trip. She gave me that same week to seriously think about our relationship.
I replied with a simple [Okay.]
After a while, Selena messaged again: [Seb, maybe you think our time together was just a lie, but I can promise you, it wasn’t. Right now, I really want to build a future with you.]
I stared at the screen for a long time before finally replying [Have a good trip. Don’t think too much about it.]
