Chapter 58

“I… I… I love you,” I managed to say, each syllable trembling on my tongue, as I locked eyes with him. The words felt too big for my mouth, but they slipped out anyway, refusing to be caged any longer.

Then we kissed again—slowly this time, deliberately—our lips fitting together perfectly. It wasn’t rushed or frantic, just deep and certain, like we were both trying to memorize the shape of this moment. My cheeks burned with heat; I tried to conceal my blush, but I knew I was failing miserably. I was falling in love again, despite the pain of my last heartbreak. Those old fears lingered at the back of my mind like shadows—memories of promises that had crumbled, of trust that had shattered—but every time he brushed against me, every time our hands found each other, the warmth in my chest bloomed into something brighter and stronger. I kissed him back with all the passion I’d been holding in for too long, pouring into it everything I didn’t yet know how to say out loud.

I c