LOGINCHAPTER 120: THE DISTANCECHARLOTTE'S POVI should have realized it sooner.I hadn't spoken to Sophie in days.Not since the last time we matched on the dating app.I opened the app while lying on my bed, expecting to see the usual notifications.Instead, I found myself staring at Sophie's profile.Her name was still there.Sophie.My thumb hovered over our messages.Why hadn't I noticed that we hadn't talked?I was about to close the app when another thought crossed my mind.Maybe I was overthinking things.I tossed my phone beside me.A knock sounded on my door.Before I could answer, it opened.Max stepped inside.He looked nervous.That alone made me sit up."Can we talk?"I stared at him."About?""Us."I sighed and moved over, giving him space to sit.Max sat at the edge of the bed, his hands clasped together."I don't want us to keep pretending everything is fine."My stomach tightened."I know I messed up," he continued. "And I'm sorry."I said nothing.He looked at me."I sho
CHAPTER 119: THE MESSAGECHARLOTTE'S POVI woke up to seventeen missed notifications.For one beautiful second, I thought maybe I had slept through an entire day.Then I saw the name at the top of my screen.Austin.My stomach dropped.I hadn't heard from him since I sent that pathetic little maybe we should just be friends message.I'd convinced myself he was ignoring me.Apparently, I was wrong.I opened the chat.Austin: We need to talk.That was it.Four words.Somehow, they made my heart pound harder than any long paragraph could have.I stared at the screen.Then another message appeared.Austin: Not over text.I swallowed.Of course.Because apparently my life had become one giant collection of conversations I didn't want to have.Max wanted another chance.Mom wanted her perfect little family back.Maya wouldn't even tell me why she was angry.Sophie thought everything was fine.And Austin wanted to talk.What could possibly go wrong?I typed.Me: About what?The three dots ap
CHAPTER 118: OKAY WE'RE OVER CHARLOTTE'S POV Dinner was painfully perfect. Mom’s lasagna tasted like guilt and melted cheese. Max played the role flawlessly laughing at her jokes, complimenting the food, asking about my trip while conveniently skipping the part where we’d broken up weeks ago. I smiled until my jaw ached, nodding along like the dutiful daughter and “girlfriend” Mom clearly still believed I was.By the time we cleared the plates, my nerves were shredded. I grabbed Max’s wrist. “Kitchen. Now.”He followed without protest. The second the swinging door closed behind us, I dropped the act.“Drop the whole shit, Max,” I hissed, keeping my voice low. “The babe, the hugs, the perfect-son-in-law performance. What are you doing?”He leaned against the counter, running a hand through his hair. “Your mom reached out. She said you seemed off after the trip and thought seeing me would help. I didn’t correct her because I wanted to talk. For real.”“Talk?” I laughed bitterly. “We b
CHAPTER 117: : OH IT’S THAT KIND OF SPECIALCHARLOTTE’S POV By the time the bus rolled back into town, my entire body felt like mashed potatoes.The good kind, though.Warm and weirdly soft because the past few days had been a lot.Too much.Way too much.My brain was still replaying everything with Austin like a movie marathon I didn’t ask for.Him saying he liked me.Me saying I needed time.Us nearly kissing under the cabin lights like some cheesy Netflix romcom.And now?Now I was going home.To my safe space, to my room, to my bed, to my peace.I practically jumped off the bus with a level of enthusiasm that made Maya laugh.“Why are you smiling like a Disney princess who just got promoted?” she asked.“Home,” I said dramatically, throwing my arms out. “My bed. My shower. My WiFi. My sanity.”Maya nodded. “Valid. Go off, queen.”We grabbed our bags, said bye to everyone, and my mum pulled up right on time.“Sweetheart!” she said, waving out the window like we were in a parade.“
CHAPTER 116 : I'M SORRY I KISSED HERCHARLOTTE’S POVWhen I finally left my room, it wasn’t because I wanted to talk to Austin.It was because Maya practically dragged me out like I was a prisoner who needed sunlight.“Just get food,” she said, shoving me toward the hallway. “We don’t have to see him.”Which was hilarious, because the moment she said that, I saw him.Austin was standing at the end of the corridor.Hands shoved deep in his pockets.Jaw tense.Eyes already on me like he’d been waiting.Maya whispered, “Oh. Oops.”My heart slammed so hard I felt dizzy.He walked toward me slowly, like he was afraid I’d bolt.I kind of wanted to.“Charlotte,” he said quietly.No greeting.No smile.Just my name, like it hurt him to say it.Maya patted my shoulder, whispering, “I’ll just…leave you to die,” and dipped.Traitor.Now it was just him and me.And the sound of my pulse in my ears.Austin swallowed. “Please…can we talk?”I crossed my arms. “What? Want to soft-launch Nia on my fore
CHAPTER 115: SHUT UP ASSHOLE CHARLOTTE’S POV It all made sense.So painfully, stupidly, infuriatingly clear.Nia was the only one there when I almost confessed to Austin.She was the only one there the day I kissed him.She was the only one slithering around whenever things between us got real.And now she was over there leaning against the wall with Danbury laughing like she wasn’t the villain in my entire life story.My hands curled into fists before I even realized I was moving.I didn’t walk toward her.I stormed at her.Austin said my name behind me, but I didn’t stop.Couldn’t stop.Not when every nerve in my body was screaming.“NIA!” I snapped.Her head lifted slowly, like she’d been expecting this.Her brows rose amused, calm, unbothered.That made me even more angrier.Danbury backed away immediately, because apparently he had basic survival instincts.Good for him.Nia crossed her arms. “Wow. You look like you want to murder someone.”“Confess,” I said sharply.She blink
CHAPTER 53: I MISS YOU MAYA'S POV I didn’t breathe the entire time Charlotte was screaming.Not when the jar shattered, not when the candles toppled.Not even when she yelled the sentence that cracked something quietly, painfully, inside my chest.“I’m sorry I kissed your girlfriend even though s
Chapter 5 : kissing my girlfriend In front of my boyfriend Charlotte's POV I honestly didn't know I could breathe that fast. I wanted to say something cool and casual, but words refused to come out of my mouth.“You're Max's girlfriend right? I see your Instagram posts everytime. Hi, I'm Sophie”
CHAPTER 61: FIRST LOVEJAYDEN'S POVI always thought crushes were flimsy illusions, the type of feelings you shake off after a week, but whatever I feel for Maya refuses to fade. I keep it buried under sarcasm, under my signature smirk, under the practiced ease I use to fool everyone, yet inside my
CHAPTER 6: A dare that dared meSophie's Pov :Sometimes, you have to wake up and decide you don’t like the peace on the planet.The silence that followed my statement told me everything.I felt the damage ripple through the room before anyone even spoke. The sharp inhale, the way people froze like







