Library
Search
Short
Stood In The Back Row Of His Love

Stood In The Back Row Of His Love

Short Story · Romance
By:  CanalCompleted
Language: English
goodnovel4goodnovel
11Chapters
4views
Read
Add to library

Share:  

Report
Overview
Catalog
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

Synopsis

Tragic Love

Bias

Mistress

Scumbag

Cheating

Campus

Plot Twists

When we are taking our graduation class photo, I cautiously hook my finger around my boyfriend Nathaniel Carter's. He immediately shoves me aside. "You should stand in the back row. The spot in the middle is for the prettiest girls. That's what makes the picture look good. You'll look out of place there. Let Liv take your spot." My face goes pale. Before I can say anything, my best friend, Olivia Morgan, smiles and tries to reassure me. "Eve, Nathaniel's just looking out for you. You're shy, and you'd probably feel uncomfortable standing in the middle anyway. The back row suits you better." Everyone else has already taken their places, and the photographer is beginning to grow impatient. Not wanting to hold everyone up, I quietly move to the corner without saying a word. I've gotten so used to giving in that even my hurt has learned to stay silent. Later, our class representative sends the graduation photo to the group chat. In the picture, the tall guy standing in front of me blocks nearly the entire lower half of my face. Olivia, meanwhile, is standing exactly where I was, her fingers intertwined with Nathaniel's. He tilts his head toward her, his expression soft as he looks at her with complete attention. His gaze has never lingered on me for more than three seconds. We've been secretly dating for three years, and Nathaniel is always the one insisting that we keep our distance in public. "If I'm always looking at you, others will figure it out. Besides, what's so interesting about looking at you?" I've always swallowed the hurt those words leave behind, convincing myself he's right. I buy us a pair of matching rings, hoping we can finally make our relationship public. Nathaniel tosses his ring back into the drawer and tells me, "You're shy. If we go public and people start talking about you, you won't be able to handle it. I'm only keeping us a secret to protect you." But the next day, I see that same ring on Olivia's finger. Not far away, the two of them stand shoulder to shoulder, posing for picture after picture as if they have nothing to hide. Their matching rings catch the sunlight, flashing brightly enough to make my eyes sting. Fine. We don't have to go public. We never will.

View More

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The notification for my close friends' updates went off, letting me know that my best friend, Olivia Morgan, had posted something new.

It was a nine-photo carousel with the caption, "Happy graduation! I can't believe we already have 132 pictures together."

I stared at the photos one by one.

In one, Nathaniel Carter, my boyfriend, was helping her straighten the ribbon on her graduation gown. In another, he leaned down slightly, listening intently as she talked. In yet another, he playfully flicked her forehead, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

I quietly opened my own photo gallery and scrolled through it again.

Nathaniel and I had known each other for 14 years, and we'd spent three of those years dating in secret. Yet somehow, after all that time, we didn't have a single decent picture together.

My throat tightened as I stared at the empty space where those memories should have been.

Nathaniel was leaning against the parallel bars, taking a drink of water while Olivia stood beside him, gently wiping the sweat from his jaw with a tissue.

I stopped a few feet away, watching them for a moment before Nathaniel finally glanced up and noticed me. "What's wrong? You look so down."

"Let's take a picture together." I tried to keep my voice light, but I only wanted one picture—something I could keep as a memory of the 14 years we'd spent knowing each other.

Nathaniel gave a quiet, mocking laugh. "Don't you know? The closer two people are, the fewer pictures they need."

Olivia smiled and immediately backed him up, "Exactly, Eve. Nathaniel's right. When two people are truly close, they don't need pictures to prove it."

Nathaniel casually ran a hand through his hair, and the ring on his finger caught the light again.

"Besides, you always hide whenever you see a camera. You freeze up like a piece of wood. Taking a picture of you would just be a waste of film."

My expression fell, and Olivia quickly slipped an arm around my shoulders as if to smooth things over. "Eve, you're just being too sensitive. Nathaniel only said that because he cares about you. He's worried you'll hate how you look in the pictures."

I lowered my eyes, quietly locked my phone, and slipped it back into my pocket. "Got it."

We wouldn't take a picture together.

And maybe I didn't need to hold on to those 14 years anymore, either.

Expand
Next Chapter
Download

Latest chapter

More Chapters

You may also like

Related Novels

New Release Novels

To Readers

Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.

No Comments
11 Chapters
Chapter 1
The notification for my close friends' updates went off, letting me know that my best friend, Olivia Morgan, had posted something new.It was a nine-photo carousel with the caption, "Happy graduation! I can't believe we already have 132 pictures together."I stared at the photos one by one. In one, Nathaniel Carter, my boyfriend, was helping her straighten the ribbon on her graduation gown. In another, he leaned down slightly, listening intently as she talked. In yet another, he playfully flicked her forehead, his eyes crinkling with amusement. I quietly opened my own photo gallery and scrolled through it again. Nathaniel and I had known each other for 14 years, and we'd spent three of those years dating in secret. Yet somehow, after all that time, we didn't have a single decent picture together. My throat tightened as I stared at the empty space where those memories should have been. Nathaniel was leaning against the parallel bars, taking a drink of water while Olivia stoo
Read more
Chapter 2
Olivia suggested we take one last walk around campus before we left. She naturally fell into step beside Nathaniel, their shoulders brushing every now and then, while I followed a few steps behind them like a shadow.When we passed the basketball court, Olivia pointed toward the bleachers and laughed. "Nathaniel, remember that championship game sophomore year? You hit the game-winning three, and I got so excited that I spilled my soda all over Ethan's head."Nathaniel laughed. "How could I forget? Ethan chased you around afterward, demanding that you pay for his dry cleaning. I ended up paying for it." They slipped so effortlessly into their shared memories that I felt completely shut out of the conversation.I remembered that same game. I'd wanted to bring Nathaniel a bottle of water at the court, but he turned me down without hesitation. "I know you don't fit in with my crowd. You can barely get a sentence out when you're talking to strangers, so I'm not going to force you t
Read more
Chapter 3
When it came time to move my suitcases, I didn't ask anyone for help. I had three bags, so I made three trips, dragging them downstairs one at a time before hauling all of them to the shipping center outside the school gates. By the time I finished, the handles had left dark purple marks around my fingers, and my arms ached from the strain.After filling out the shipping forms to have everything sent to Westbridge University, I shook out my sore arms and headed to the bar where our graduation party was being held that night. Nathaniel was sitting in the middle of the couch with Olivia pressed close beside him. She peeled a banana and casually held it up to his mouth. He tilted his head toward her and took a bite, a lazy smile tugging at the corner of his lips. I quietly took a seat at the far end of the couch, keeping my distance. The bruises around my palms still throbbed from dragging my luggage, while the dull ache in my lower abdomen came and went in waves, a lingering rem
Read more
Chapter 4
Just then, my phone buzzed. A message from Nathaniel appeared on the screen. "It was just a game. Don't take it seriously. Go home and get some rest."I slipped my phone back into my pocket, walked to the side of the road, and waved down a taxi.…The next afternoon, I was standing under the blazing sun, handing out flyers in a suffocating mascot costume when my phone buzzed three times in quick succession. I pulled off the heavy mascot head, sweat stinging my eyes, and checked the screen. A bank notification stared back at me. 8,600 dollars had been charged to my account, leaving my balance at almost zero.The card was linked to Nathaniel's phone. Back then, he had fallen out with his family, and they had cut off his allowance. I had shoved the card into his hands and told him it held all the money I had left for food. Even after he reconciled with his family, he never returned it. I had earned that money through months of nonstop part-time jobs, working until I developed ga
Read more
Chapter 5
It had been a week since I arrived at Westbridge University. I was sitting by the library window, going through the pathology papers my advisor had sent me. They were all written in foreign languages, so I was highlighting the sections I needed to study when my phone lit up with a call from an unlisted number in Crown City. I knew it was Nathaniel almost immediately. The moment I answered, his furious voice came through, "Evelyn, have you gotten a little too bold lately? HR submitted the new employee list today, and your name wasn't even on it. "I specifically had your desk moved right outside my office. I even got you exempted from the morning meetings you hate so much. And now you're just disappearing on me?"My hand never stopped moving as I drew a straight yellow line across the page with my highlighter. "Nathaniel, I'm not going to work for your company." There was a brief silence on the other end before he let out a cold laugh. "So those two months were just some k
Read more
Chapter 6
Nathaniel slammed his phone down on his desk, the screen still displaying the call that had just ended. Irritably, he loosened his tie, his expression darkening at being defied.A moment later, Olivia walked into the office carrying a cup of coffee. Her wine-red dress hugged her graceful curves, and her perfectly made-up face was framed by a bright, confident smile. Nathaniel took the coffee from her, his gaze lingering on her for a moment. Now, this was the kind of woman he could take out in public—the kind who turned heads and made him look good in front of his friends."Nathaniel, is Eve still throwing a fit?" Olivia asked. "Let her." He lit a cigarette and took a slow drag, smoke curling lazily into the air. "Once she runs out of money for rent, she'll come crawling back to me."After 14 years by his side, Nathaniel had long since grown tired of me. He hated the way I dressed, always in faded cotton dresses that made me look plain and old-fashioned. He hated the way I hunche
Read more
Chapter 7
At 10:00 am the next day, I'd just finished an experiment when I pushed through the glass doors and spotted Nathaniel sitting in the corner. His expression was already dark. "Did you get the 9,000 dollars I wired you? The extra 400 dollars should be enough to buy yourself a few decent outfits at Westbridge University."I stopped in front of him. "I got it. The original amount is settled. I already sent the extra 400 dollars back to you. I don't take handouts."Nathaniel's jaw tightened. The bloodshot veins in his eyes made him look almost feral. He was used to seeing me meek and apologetic, always willing to explain myself. Clearly, he couldn't stand this colder, more indifferent version of me. "Evelyn Bennett, you've gotten pretty damn bold, haven't you?" he snapped. "You applied to Westbridge University behind my back and took off without even giving me an explanation?"He stepped closer, his shadow falling over me. "So what if you got into grad school? You really think you
Read more
Chapter 8
Nathaniel didn't go back to Crown City. Instead, he stubbornly booked a room at a five-star hotel near Westbridge University. He seemed convinced that if he stayed long enough, I'd eventually give in and come back to his side. …Three days later, in the early evening, I walked out of the library carrying several heavy hardcover books, accompanied by one of the senior students in my research group. Daniel Whitmore was a cheerful local who had been chatting with me about our research topic, his words carrying a slight local accent. "Evelyn, that data model you proposed last night was brilliant," he said. "Our advisor even went out of his way to praise you at today's meeting. He said you're the most talented student in our cohort."I smiled, genuinely happy. "Thank you, Daniel. It's because our advisor has been such a great mentor." "Evelyn Bennett!" A dark, icy voice cut through our conversation.I looked down the steps and saw Nathaniel standing there, glaring at Daniel and m
Read more
Chapter 9
Nathaniel eventually went home. His mother, Catherine Parker, came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit. She glanced past him toward the doorway, then frowned when she realized he was alone."Why are you the only one home? I haven't seen Evelyn in over six months. I thought you'd bring her home for dinner today?"Nathaniel froze halfway through taking off his shoes. His eyes drifted toward the bottom shelf of the shoe cabinet, where a pair of pink bunny slippers sat tucked away in the corner.They were mine. Every weekend, I used to come here without fail to keep his mother company. I'd arrange flowers with her, drink coffee, and listen to her talk about everything from neighborhood gossip to whatever she'd cooked that week. It had become such a regular part of our lives that no one had ever thought twice about it. Now, a thin layer of dust had settled over the slippers. "She's been a little busy lately," Nathaniel said, loosening his tie as though it wer
Read more
Chapter 10
Three days later, I walked out of the building carrying several heavy anatomy textbooks when Nathaniel immediately approached me.He pulled a small velvet jewelry box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a simple silver star necklace—the exact same design he'd given me during my freshman year of college. "I had the jeweler make another one from scratch." There was a trace of smug satisfaction in his eyes, as though he expected me to be impressed by the effort. "This isn't the one Olivia took. I threw that one away. This one is brand-new. You're the only one who gets to wear it." I took the jewelry box from his hand, dropped it straight into the trash, and dusted my hands off. "I don't need it anymore." His face instantly went pale. I looked at him calmly. "Anything you give me is trash to me."Just then, Olivia tagged Nathaniel in the class group chat. "Nathaniel, are you coming to pick me up after work tonight? I got your favorite cupcake." The message immediately set o
Read more
View More
Explore and read good novels for free
Free access to a vast number of good novels on GoodNovel app. Download the books you like and read anywhere & anytime.
Read books for free on the app
SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP
DMCA.com Protection Status