Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

ART 5-CHAPTER 189

JESS

He stepped into view, and my heart skidded to a stop.

Luke.

I could barely breathe as the memories flooded me-moments of us laughing in the dark, our endless fights, the feel of his arms around me, stolen kisses, and every whispered word, every night spent in his My hands itched to reach for him, close the gap between us, and throw myself into his arms like no time had passed.

and then... the heat between us, t

armIS.

But he looked... different. The more I took him in, the less he seemed to be the Luke I remember. Luke had always carried an intensity, but this was something else entirely- something raw and sad that made me feel like I was staring at a stranger. It was like he'd aged a lifetime since we'd last seen each other.

"Luke," I whispered, my voice trembling.

He looked up, and for a moment, he was just as lost as I was. His gaze softened as it locked onto mine, his jaw slightly slack. "Jess," he murmured, the sound of my name on his lips breaking something inside me.

We stood there, suspended in a bubble that held only the two of us, and I felt every bit of the past rush between us like an electric current.

nowhere, she appeared between us. The

PART 5 CHAPTER 189

who opened the

front of my face, her voice sharp and condescending.

chance to process before she scrutinized me with an eyebrow raised, her arms crossed as if she were staking her claim on him. "Why are you staring at my fiancé?" she sneered, the word hitting me like a punch to the gut.

felt the words slip out without even meaning to. "Fiancé?" I

with almost gleeful satisfaction. "Yeah, fiancé," she repeated, a cold glint in her eyes,

world tilted, my mind racing to make sense of her words. I forced my gaze back to Luke, searching for any sign that this wasn't real, that she was just twisting things, playing some cruel game. But he just stood there, silent, his face frozen in that same unreadable mask "Luke... is she-you two are-" I stumbled over my words, hoping, praying, that he'd finally say

Anything.

Francesca said, cutting me off with a sing-song tone, "technically, I'm more than his fiancée." She

PARTS CHAPTER 184

her stomach.

The phrase echoed in my mind, louder and louder, until I could barely think. I was vaguely aware of her hand resting on her

her eyes. twisted into something smug, as if she'd just sealed

back, each word slicing deeper than the last. My brain struggled to process it, to make sense of how any of this could be real. It felt like I was falling,

voice barely a whisper, fighting back the stinging tears that were already slipping down my

His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something, but no words came. He looked like he'd been struck just as hard as I had, but the silence between

Now.