phone down and join your wife.
Clara: Can’t. Already tried. She said no or we’d never make it to see her dad.
Julian: Happy wife. Happy life. I’ll be over soon.
Julian: Blondie, you doing all right?
Stevie stared at the message he had sent almost an hour ago. Yesterday, she had stayed in bed and decided her internship meant nothing to her. She’d find another way to get a good reference—even if it meant working for one of her mother’s contacts. It would also mean returning to London and seeing Charles. She hadn’t seen him since she left England over two years ago. He had practically thrown her on that plane. Her gap year was finished, and he had wanted what was best. They’d figure out their lives when she finished. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she loved him. But she loved him enough to know that a future was impossible if she stayed in Melbourne.
“Baby, brunch is a stupid idea!” Clara’s husband, Noel, shouted as he entered the lounge room.
Stevie didn’t care that her best friend’s husband was seeing her at her worst. Lying on the couch in yesterday’s pjs, her messy blonde hair was up in a somewhat bun. It was so glamorous that she didn’t care that Noel had chuckled and made his way to the couch. He playfully slapped her knee and Stevie groaned, squirming to give him some space to sit. Noel then stretched his legs out and rested his feet by the side of her body.
“I didn’t suggest brunch. You did! You said it was the best of both worlds. Your brother loves lunch, and my brother loves breakfast,” Clara explained in a yell from her bedroom.
Noel sighed, his emerald-green eyes focused on Stevie. She dropped her phone on her stomach and raised her brow at him. The loud sound of Clara’s hairdryer filled the apartment, and Stevie knew this was the time to ask Noel questions.
“Noel, can I ask you something?”
His lips tugged into a smile, reminding Stevie of just how lucky her best friend was in marrying a very attractive man. “Shoot.”
“What are the odds that Julian will forget me?” she asked, slightly afraid to have an answer.
The muscles in his jaw tensed and then the colour in his eyes softened. “He’s never going to give up on you. You’re the girl who broke his heart. You have to understand that. Think of it like this: I never forgot Clara, even when she told me it was over. I never stopped believing we were right for each other, even though I knew she should have been with Liam. It’s the same for Julian. He hasn’t stopped waiting. And honestly, Stevie, I think he’d have waited forever to find you.”
It was as if Noel had sliced her heart and then poured acid over it, ensuring every cell and surface was inflicted with a burning pain. She wasn’t heartless. But what Noel said made her feel like she was. Because she’d rather kill him than have him wait. It was clear what kind of monster she really was.
“Then he deserves to be hurt,” Stevie confessed in a small voice.
Noel got off the couch. Stevie peeked up to see the conflicted emotion in his eyes.
“He’s my best friend and you’re my wife’s. I’m going to ignore what you said. But I’ll say this; no man deserves what he went through.”
Stevie nodded, completely understanding what he meant. “I know. That’s why I can’t do it a second time. I care about him enough to avoid a repeat. I’m only going to break his heart, Noel. I don’t want to, but I think it’s the only way for him to realise that I’m not healthy for him. Please believe me when I say that this is better for him.”
I love him enough to hurt him.
“Noel, I’m done. You better get ready,” Clara interrupted. Stevie turned her head to see Clara staring at her phone by her bedroom door.
“Sure, baby.” He bent down, his mouth close to Stevie’s ear. “Then you better convince him that you don’t cry over him. I know you love him, Stevie. Either tell him or never see him again.” Then Noel stood up, walked up to his wife, and kissed her forehead as he entered the bedroom.
Stevie glanced down to see the message Julian had sent her. She couldn’t possibly tell him the truth. She’d rather live with the guilt. Because one confession would unravel many more. And she was ashamed to admit