All Chapters of Dying to Love You: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

RAFAEL~Something wasn't right with Sam.Three weeks after our rain-soaked camping trip, I still couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something. Little things that most people wouldn't notice, but after nearly ten years of friendship, I noticed everything about Samantha Ellis.Like how she'd cancel plans at the last minute with vague excuses about 'not feeling well' or 'family stuff' Or how she'd sometimes disappear mid-conversation to take calls in private. Or the way May watched her constantly with that worried crease between her eyebrows.But most concerning were the pills.I first noticed them the day after our camping trip. We were hanging out in her room, her showing me some college brochure she'd gotten in the mail, one she seemed strangely disinterested in despite it being her dream school, when her phone alarm went off. She'd immediately tensed, made some excuse about needing water, and disappeared downstairs.When she didn't return after ten minutes, I went look

SAMANTHA ~ I'd been staring at the same page for twenty minutes, the words blurring together as my mind wandered to the conversation ahead. Four o'clock. The garage. Rafael waiting for answers I wasn't sure I could give. didn't want to give. "You look like you're planning a bank heist instead of reading Jane Austen," May commented, setting a mug of tea beside my bed. "Nervous about seeing Rafael?" "That obvious huh?" I dog-eared the page and set the book aside. "I told him I'd explain everything today." May's eyebrows shot up. "Everything? As in..." "No, not everything," I clarified, wrapping my hands around the warm mug. "Just... something. I don't know what yet." She perched on the edge of my bed, concern etched across her features. "Sam, you know I support whatever you decide to tell him. But are you sure you're ready for this conversation? Especially after yesterday's tests?" The question hung in the air between us. Yesterday's pulmonary function tests had shown another f

From caring and liking a dying girl. From the grief that would follow. From the cruel reality that any future he imagined with me was already impossible.But I couldn't say those things. Not yet. Maybe not ever.Instead, I did the only thing I could think of to stop the questions, to bridge the distance between us without words.I grabbed the front of his oil stained tshirt, pulled him down to me, and kissed him.For one terrible second, he froze, and I thought I'd miscalculated catastrophically. Then his hands came up to cradle my face, and he was kissing me back with a desperation that matched my own.The kiss was nothing like I'd imagined during countless sleepless nights. It wasn't tentative or sweet or careful. It was raw and messy and urgent, the physical manifestation of everything we'd left unsaid for too long.His mouth was warm and insistent against mine, his hands gentle on my face even as the kiss deepened. I pressed closer, backing us into the desk, needing to feel the so

He extracted a textbook from his messenger bag, flipping to a problem set. As I leaned over to see better, I caught a whiff of his cologne, something expensive and subtle. I explained the concept he was struggling with, watching understanding dawn on his face. "That actually makes sense now." he said, sounding genuinely grateful. "You should consider teaching." I smiled. "In another life maybe." His expression shifted, becoming more serious. "I've been meaning to ask you something," he began, sliding the wrapped package toward me. "Would you like to go to dinner sometime? There's this great Italian place in the city..." Before I could respond, the bell jingled again. I looked up to see Rafael standing in the doorway, his dark eyes immediately finding mine, then narrowing as they shifted to Marcus. "Hey." I said, standing perhaps too quickly. "You're early." Rafael approached the counter, his expression carefully neutral but tension evident in the set of his shoulders. "Jen

RAFAEL~I stared at the text from my father for the fifth time, still unable to believe what I was seeing.{ Home for dinner tonight. 7pm. Need to discuss something important. }Victor Moreno, international business consultant and absent father extraordinaire, wanted a family dinner. The same man who'd missed my graduation, forgotten my last few birthdays, and communicated primarily through his assistant for the past year was suddenly interested in quality time."Something wrong?" Jen asked, catching me glaring at my phone instead of checking the oil on the Honda I was supposed to be servicing."My father's in town," I said, shoving my phone back into my pocket. "Wants to have dinner."Jen raised an eyebrow. "And that's bad because...?""Because the last time we had a real conversation, I was sixteen and he was telling me not to 'waste my potential' like my mother had.""Jesus," she muttered. "What a dick.""Yep." I ducked back under the hood, hoping the conversation was over."You