Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 240

Chapter 240

I sit on the windowsill of the art room, knees tucked to my chest. I've had that confusion build inside my chest for the past weeks and it's killing me.

I feel like a coward because I haven't talked to Zaid or Cami about. I blow out a slow breath and pick up my phone, deciding to just get it over with.

Cami picks up after two rings. "Hey, Alina."

"Hi," I say, soft. "Do you have time to talk?"

"It is my office hours, so yes, I have time for you," she replies warmly. "Is

everything okay?"

I stare out the window, watching Zaid through the glass as he waters the little herb garden we planted last week. "Tired. Nervous, maybe."

"Because Aiden's flying in tomorrow?"

"Yeah." I exhale. "I thought I was okay with everything. But now that it's real, now that he's coming, I feel off."

There's a pause. "Tell me more."

"I've been talking to him on the phone," I start, "and it's fine. He's sweet. Kind. Always checks in. I don't feel tense or weird like I did with Jake. But is that enough? Is that enough to stay with someone?"

Cami hums gently. "That's a very important question. And I think, instead of rushing to

answer it, we should first explore what's behind it. What does it mean to you that Aiden has been kind to you?"

I chew on my lip. "It means he loves me. That he's safe. That he deserves someone who

to be with him as much as he wants to be

have

stomach flips. I close my

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to return it. Especially if we've spent years questioning whether we're worthy of it. You've been through a lot-survival, trauma, grief. And in the wake of that, your instinct has been to cling to any love that doesn't hurt, and in some cases, love that does hurt. The pain feels like a

He's been good to me. He's

see him in it."

"What do you see?"

comes too fast. Zaid's laugh. Us. Kissing, sleeping together,

creases when his

swallow hard. "Zaid. He's all I

when you picture Zaid, do you feel pressure to stay? Or

I don't hesitate. "Peace."

foundation for love, Alina," she says, her tone kind but firm. "You've grown up believing that you owe your loyalty to anyone who sees your worth. But love isn't a debt. It isn't

it hurts him? What if I become the person

Aiden. Not him."

for how he processes heartbreak, for how anyone processes heartbreak," she says. "You're responsible for your truth. And for respecting

of you feels that if you stop

flinch. "Yes. And I

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force, by trauma, by abandonment. Your instinct is to hold on tight. But healing doesn't mean sacrificing your truth to keep others happy. It means trusting that the people who truly see you will love you

wipe my eyes. "I don't want to

know. And that tells me that your heart is in the right place. But staying

with him, that I did want him. But being alone with Zaid this past month makes me question everything. Life is so