CHAPTER 2: I COULD FEEL HIM WANTING ME

My whole body froze.

The heat was too much. It wasn't the dark alley It was him. Standing this close to the man I had secretly loved for four years, finally having him look at me like I wasn't a little girl but a woman

I had to go. I had to run before I made a mistake I could never take back.

As I turned to go, he reached out and drew my hand back. In one smooth move, he pulled me into a hug so tight, like he was terrified I was about to run away and never come back.

My face was pressed against his hard chest. I could hear his heart hammering as loud as mine.

"Mila, I know you have a crush on me," he whispered against my hair. "I have always known."

My knees went weak. So he always knew. Every stolen glance at dinner, every time I blushed when he came over he knew all along.

"You feel hot and breathless right now, don't you?" he murmured.

He was right. My skin was burning. I couldn't breathe properly.

Then he leaned in and inhaled my scent again, slow and deep, like a man trying to control himself and failing.

"Mila, if you want to run, go now," he said, his voice strained. "Because if you stay..."

But my body wouldn't listen to my brain. My heart knew this was forbidden love. My dad's best friend. An uncle to me since I was little. My mom's ex. This was wrong.

And yet when he whispered, "Mila, you're mine," my whole soul shivered,

His hands traveled to my back and held my waist so tight I couldn't move. I felt his fingers brush the zipper of my dress and start to pull it down just an inch.

Panic shot through me and I grabbed his hand.

"No uncle, please. This is my first time."

The second I said it, he froze.

His hand dropped instantly, like he had touched fire.

He stepped back from me, putting real distance between us for the first time tonight. He ran a hand through his hair, his chest rising and falling hard. He looked torn, guilty, and still wanting.

"Mila, God... I'm sorry," he said, his voice full of regret. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have... you're right. Not like this. You deserve better than an alley behind a party."

He looked at me one last time, his eyes dark with emotion.

"Go back inside, sweetheart. I'll stay out here for a while."

And then, without another word, he turned and walked away deeper into the dark, leaving me alone, shaking, with my dress still zipped and my heart beating out of my chest.

He walked away and left me there, alone in the hot alley.

I stood there for a long time, my hand still covering the zipper at the back of my dress. My whole body was shaking. Not from the cold. From him.

My legs couldn't hold on anymore. I slid down slowly until my back hit the brick wall and I sat on the ground, not caring if my expensive dress got dirty.

What just happened? My dad's best friend. My mom's ex. The man I called uncle since I was a child just held me like he wanted me.

He almost... and I stopped him.

I touched my neck where I could still feel his breath from when he smelled me. I could still smell his cologne all over my skin.

I should have been angry. I should have felt guilty. But I didn't i just felt alive,

For the first time in my 20 years, I felt seen. Not as little Mila, not as someone's daughter. As a woman he actually wanted.

But then the fear came crashing down.

What if my mom finds out? What if my dad finds out? What would they do to him? What would they think of me?

Tears started to fall before I could stop them. Hot and silent tears.

I wiped them quickly with the back of my hand. I couldn't go back inside crying. My mom would know instantly. My mom always knows.

I took a deep breath, the way he had. I tried to fix my hair, fix my dress, fix my face didn't want anyone to notice

Inside, I could hear my mom laughing through the window. She was so happy tonight. So happy with her new dress, her new life trying to forget about andrel

And here I was, in the dark, falling for her ex I whispered to myself, hugging my knees. "You're so stupid.Mila

But even as I said it, my eyes were still locked on the dark corner where he had disappeared, wishing he would come back and hug me again