Tashy Bae
"""Claire, you know things between us won't be the same after this, right?"" he asked, his gaze fixed firmly on hers.
She took a quiet breath and tried to gather her thoughts.
""If we choose to be together now,"" he continued, ""I need to know that you're serious. I don't want to lose you again because we're both too afraid to admit what we really feel.""
Claire looked at the man who had once been her best friend.
Was she really ready to change everything between them?
She was no longer the uncertain woman who had pushed him away years ago. For the first time, she understood how much he had always meant to her.
She regretted the lie that had separated them. If she had told him the truth back then, perhaps they wouldn't have spent so many years apart.
""Is this really what you want, Claire Ema Carter?"" he asked.
She met his eyes.
""Yes,"" she answered softly. ""I want to give us a chance.""
A slow smile appeared on his face.
""Then no more running away from me.""
Claire smiled despite herself. ""Only if you promise the same.""
---
He had never thought of Claire as merely a friend.
From the beginning, she was the person who mattered most to him, even when she had no idea how deeply he cared.
For years, all he wanted was a chance to tell her the truth and prove that what they shared could become something more.
But Claire needed time to understand her own heart.
Now, after years of misunderstandings, distance, and feelings left unspoken, they finally have another chance.
The question is whether they can leave the past behind—or whether the secrets that once separated them will return before their new beginning has a chance to grow."
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