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Home / Campus Short Story / I Only Settle Down for the Best / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of I Only Settle Down for the Best: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

13 Chapters

Chapter 1

Vera Lane had finally managed to get the phone number of my roommate, the campus heartthrob. With a faint smile tugging at her lips, she wrapped her arms around my neck and burrowed herself back into my chest. I grabbed her wrists and pushed her away. Stepping out of bed, I picked up my clothes scattered across the floor and started dressing. A loud ringing filled my ears, echoing the words she had so casually thrown out moments before. My hands were trembling so badly that I fumbled the buttons over and over. Vera leaned back against the headboard, watching me with a smirk. "What's wrong with you now?"The thin sheet draped over her had slipped down, exposing her pale skin. The fresh mark I'd just left on her shoulder stood out starkly under the dim, warm glow of the bedside lamp. I averted my eyes. "I'm heading back.""Yves, stop being dramatic. It's late.""I have an early class tomorrow."Vera clicked her tongue in annoyance, then got out of bed and wrapped her arms aro

Chapter 2

I walked into the dorm to find Danny Moore glued to his phone, a smug, giddy smile plastered across his face as he typed away. A dull ache settled in my chest.I knew instantly who he was messaging. "Oh, hey. You're back," Danny said when he noticed me. "I thought you were staying at your place tonight?"I gave a casual nod.My family lived right here in town, so my roommates always assumed I went home whenever I didn't return to the dorm. In reality, I spent most of those nights holed up in Vera's off-campus apartment.Danny was practically glowing as he tossed an arm over my shoulder. "I had no idea that was your sister who picked you up from the party earlier! I totally thought she was your girlfriend."I froze mid-unpacking.Sister?Something twisted hard in my gut.So that was how Vera had spun it. How classy. Sleeping with her own "brother".Our families had been friends for generations, and Vera and I grew up together. We'd been secretly dating since high scho

Chapter 3

Notifications from our childhood friends' group chat kept blowing up my phone all night. Someone dropped a photo from the racetrack showing Vera's red convertible parked at the lookout point. Smiling brightly, she leaned against the car door, tilting her head up to kiss the guy beside her as the headlights outlined her profile. The chat went into a complete frenzy. "Holy shit! Vera actually brought a guy along? She never even did that with Yves!""Did they have a fight?""Yeah, I thought they were doing fine at the party earlier."I was about to close the app when a message from Vera popped up."Drop it, guys. Yves is like a brother to me."A second later, a notification announced a new member had joined, and Danny's profile picture appeared in the chat. Vera wrote, "Say hi to my boyfriend."Her words were short and simple. A sudden sharp pang pierced my chest—a heavy, lingering ache that refused to fade. By the time I pulled myself together, the chat was already fl

Chapter 4

The next day, I decided to skip class and head to Vera's apartment.In less than two hours, I had packed up all my belongings, erasing every last trace of myself from the place. As I made my way to the entryway, the front door clicked open and Vera walked in. She glanced at my suitcase, her impatience flaring. "Yves, what are you doing?""I don't want people getting the wrong idea," I said."There is no one else. Yves, this is our home. I won't bring anyone else here."I let out a humorless laugh, choosing to ignore her as I stepped toward the door. She blocked my path, her voice dropping into an angry hiss. "Yves Keller! What's with the sudden tantrum? We haven't broken up! We're just giving each other some space and seeing other people."I stopped and looked at her. The eyes that had once completely captivated me were now filled with an arrogance that made me feel sick."No thanks," I said calmly. "I'm traditional. I'm not interested in an open relationship. I've spen

Chapter 5

I deleted every single photo, message, and memory of Vera from my phone and cloud storage. Then I packed everything she had ever given me over the years into a massive cardboard box and had it delivered to her apartment. From here on out, I wouldn't spend another second caring about anything that had to do with her. This was the end. Unfortunately, Danny and I still shared a dorm. He was constantly bringing her up in passing—gushing about how clingy she was, and how incredible she was at making him feel loved. Vera was an exceptional girlfriend when she wanted to be. When she set her mind to it, she could wrap any guy around her finger with that soft, teasing voice of hers. Only I was no longer on the receiving end of it. On Valentine's Day, Danny insisted on taking the whole dorm out for dinner. It was an unwritten rule among us—whenever someone started seeing a girl, he had to bring her out to meet the guys. Yet, Vera had never once met them as my girlfriend.I tried

Chapter 6

The moment Eliza spoke, my fingers—which had been clutching the bedsheet in a tight grip—instantly lost all their strength. An unexpected prickle stung the back of my nose. I jerked my head away, burying my face in the shadows. "W-What are you doing here?""Someone posted a photo of your ambulance in a group chat. I recognized your bracelet."I froze.When I had glanced at that blurry photo earlier, all I could see was a bloody wrist. I never imagined that, despite the poor image quality, she would immediately recognize the bracelet I had worn for years.It felt as though a hand had gently reached into my chest and touched the hardened, walled-off parts of my heart, sending a sharp ache rippling through me. Yet after years of non-stop rivalry, we had never learned how to speak to each other without knives drawn. Faced with her sudden show of concern, I had no idea how to react, so I defaulted to my usual prickly, defensive self. "Is that why you came all the way here? Just

Chapter 7

Vera was distracted as the car sped toward the hotel. Irritated, she rolled down the window, letting the cold air rush in to shake off a vague, persistent sense of unease. She couldn't get my smile out of her head. There had been no pain, no jealousy—not even the slightest flicker of emotion on my face. Being so utterly ignored unsettled her far more than any display of jealousy ever could. Danny, completely oblivious to her mood, wrapped his arms around her waist. "Vera, I heard you have an off-campus apartment. How come you've never taken me there?"Vera frowned and pulled away, her voice going cold. "Don't cross the line."Danny looked at her, anxiety flashing across his face. "I'm sorry, babe. I just love you so much… Yves has already been there. As your boyfriend, why can't I go too?"Vera's fingers curled into tight fists. Hearing my name sparked a strange, suffocating lump in her chest. "What did Yves tell you?""He said you two grew up together, and that he's alway

Chapter 8

Eliza insisted I stay at her place."Since you agreed to give us a try, you have to at least give me a shot at proving I'm qualified to be your girlfriend," she said, helping me to my feet. I was covered in scrapes, and my ankle was in rough shape. There was no way I could make it back to the dorm like this. I didn't want to go home to my parents looking so pitiful, either—it would only worry them. Besides, even though Eliza and I had been rivals for years, I knew deep down that she was someone I could fully trust implicitly. Looking back, the three of us had always been inseparable as kids.With her soft, delicate features, Eliza had always been prettier than Vera. Back then, I was too young to know any better and insisted that Eliza was going to be my bride when we grew up. Over time, though, Eliza grew quieter and more distant. Whatever childish affection I'd had for her eventually got buried under a wave of adolescent stubbornness. I convinced myself she was always pi

Chapter 9

By the time I woke up the next morning, warm sunlight was filtering through the sheer curtains. I shifted slightly, but a sharp spike of pain shot through my ankle. Hearing movement inside, Eliza pushed open the door and walked into the bedroom. "Let's get you washed up first."A faint blush crept up my neck as she helped me out of bed and guided me toward the bathroom. Her constant, gentle attentiveness made me a little flustered at first, but it didn't take long to get used to it. When I stepped up to the sink to brush my teeth, she handed me a toothbrush already coated with toothpaste. When we sat down for breakfast, the dining table was lined with all my favorite foods. Since my injuries needed time to heal, I put in a request for medical leave from school. With graduation just around the corner, Eliza didn't have many classes left, so she stayed at the apartment almost constantly, keeping me company day in and day out. She rewatched old movies with me, her head re

Chapter 10

I spent over two weeks recovering at Eliza's apartment before we finally returned to campus together once my injuries had healed. The second our car pulled up to the main gates and Eliza helped me out, Vera came rushing out of nowhere. She shoved Eliza aside and grabbed my wrist in a vice grip. Her grip was so hard it sent a sharp spike of pain through my barely healed arm. Before I could pull back, her free hand was already swinging toward Eliza's face. "Eliza, you shameless bitch! Yves is my boyfriend!"Eliza stepped back, dodging the blow with a cold sneer. "You two already broke up.""What do you know?" Vera snarled, her eyes bloodshot. "Yves is mine! Do you honestly think he actually likes you? He's just using you to make me jealous!"I shoved Vera away. "Vera, stop making a scene! Are you deaf? We're done!"Vera reached for me again, her fingers digging in. "Yves, I wasn't serious about Danny. You promised you would stay with me forever…"Eliza said, "I don't care why Yv

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