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.

I shouldn't be smiling and laughing and moving

stifle the sobs, but they rip through me, anyway.

opening.

jolts through me. Who could

and curling into myself, but my trembling hands give me

whoever walks in will miss the girl in a ball on the floor.

two so he can piece me

fall on the tree first. The way his brows furrow and his lips part in silent awe makes

the floor with a thud as he rushes

says, his voice

can manage is a

his hands cupping my tear-streaked face. "What's

What happened?"

unable to form words. The tears just keep

arms without hesitation, holding me tightly as

around his neck and let my face fall into

strokes my hair, his touch

2/5

3.15 pm

Love Me, Too

whispers, his lips brushing against the top of my head.

Jake shifts. He grabs my legs and wraps

his neck.

upstairs to

reach his bed, he sits down, settling me on his lap and wrapping his arms around me. His warmth surrounds me, his steady heartbeat

quiet.

cheeks and tilts my face to look at him. His fingers brush away my tears. "Are

nod, pressing my lips

you want to talk about

I want to talk to him about how I'm in love

him

two

I shake my head.

frowns. "Do you want me to

at that. "That would be

to my lips, and he settles me on

downstairs.

my breath and kind of feel

it

this deep, dark tunnel.