Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 78

Love Me, Too

I turn on my heels to look at the tree.

Half of it is decorated, and the rest of the ornaments lie in the box. I stare until my eyes burn. It would be beautiful. It would be whimsical, but all I see is the mess I've created.

Aiden's furious face flashes in my mind. Fuck, what was I doing? I'm not a cheater, I can't be. That's terrible. No one deserves that kind of betrayal. I should have ended things with him the moment I felt something for Zaid.

But even that thought doesn't sit right in my chest. Being with Zaid and not Aiden feels

wrong.

I shake my head, pressing a hand to my chest as a wave of emotion drowns me.

Does that mean I have to leave them both?

Pain lances through me.

I would have to move out. Find a job, get an apartment.

Tears prick the back of my eyes.

Zaid's dark, piercing eyes come to mind then, and my knees give out. I sink to the floor, the weight of everything crashing down on me.

Tears blur my vision, and before I know it, I'm sobbing uncontrollably. It all comes at once. The guilt, the confusion, the heartbreak.

My chest feels tight, like I can't breathe.

I think of Aiden's hurt, Zaid's intensity, and my own traitorous feelings. I think of Jake, his warmth and steadiness, and how I've tangled myself in this impossible knot.

How can I live without them?

And at the same time, how can I live with them?

I cry into my hands, letting my love for the three of them express out of me in long sobs.

1/5

Love Me, Too

And then there's the ache of Alex's absence, and the hollow void where my dad should be

this Christmas.

It's all too much.

a tree without them. I shouldn't be smiling and laughing and moving

me, anyway. My breathing becomes shallow

opening.

through me.

and curling into myself, but my

whoever walks in will miss the girl in a ball on the floor. But it's Jakes who walks in and my heart wants to

he can piece me

brows furrow and his lips part in silent awe makes my heart squeeze. But

floor with a thud

says, his voice soft but

manage

cupping my tear-streaked

What happened?"

shake my head, unable to form words. The

his arms without hesitation, holding me

around his neck and let my face fall into his

strokes my hair,

2/5

3.15 pm

Love Me, Too

okay," he whispers, his lips brushing against the top

long we stay like that, but eventually, Jake shifts. He grabs my legs and wraps them around his waist. He stands as if I weigh nothing and I keep my face buried

his neck.

carries me upstairs

wrapping his

quiet.

tilts my face to look at

pressing my lips

you want to talk about

throat. Do I want to talk

him

two sons?

I shake my head.

you want me to

at that.

kisses me softly, a chaste press to my lips, and he

downstairs.

breath and kind of feel a little

terrible as it feels. Maybe there's still a light at the

this deep, dark tunnel.