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.

tree without them. I shouldn't be smiling and laughing and moving on. I don't deserve to live, not

through me,

opening.

me. Who could

my face hastily and curling into myself, but my trembling

look at the entrance, hoping whoever walks in will miss the girl in a ball on the floor. But it's Jakes

crack in two so he can piece me

his lips part in silent awe makes my heart squeeze. But then his gaze

a

says, his

I can manage is a

his hands cupping

What happened?"

shake my head, unable to form words. The

into his arms without hesitation,

his neck and let my face fall into his

hand strokes my hair, his touch soothing, grounding

2/5

3.15 pm

Love Me, Too

his lips brushing against the top of my head. "I'm here. It's okay,

grabs my legs and wraps them

his neck.

carries me upstairs

wrapping his arms around me. His warmth surrounds me, his steady heartbeat lulling me into a

quiet.

look at him.

nod, pressing my

to talk about

catches in my throat. Do I want to talk to him about how I'm in

him

his two

I shake my head.

"Do you want me to make you some

at that. "That

me softly, a chaste press to my lips, and he settles me on his bed before

downstairs.

catch my breath and

meltdown. Maybe it's not all as terrible as it feels. Maybe

this deep, dark tunnel.