Her brows furrow, like I just said the most insane thing in the world.
I keep going, because I can’t stop now.
“Love is just a fucking illusion,” I say, voice bitter. “People pretend it’s real because they like the idea of it, because it makes them feel safe for a while. But in the end? Everyone leaves. Everyone stops loving you when it’s not convenient anymore.”
Tara is quiet.
Too quiet.
For the first time, she doesn’t push.
She just looks at me, like she’s seeing something no one else ever has.
“Who made you believe that?” she asks softly.
The words hit harder than they should.
I don’t answer.
Because the truth?
It wasn’t just one person.
It was every example I’ve ever had. Every hollowrelationship I’ve ever seen. Every couple that stayed together out of habit, out of obligation, out of fear of being alone.
I never saw the kind of love people write about in books.
I saw peoplesettleand lie and cheat.
And I refuse to be one of them.
Tara takes a step closer, slow and deliberate.
I should step back.
I don’t.
“You might not believe in love,” she says, voice steady. “But I think you’re scared of it anyway.”
I inhale sharply.
She tilts her head, her gaze dropping to my mouth for half a second.
I stop breathing.
She’s so close.
She’s too close.
If I leaned in just an inch, I could taste her.
The thought makes my stomach tighten.
I could.
I could kiss her.
I could let myself believe, for just a second, that this is something I can have. Thatshe’ssomething I can have.
