Forced Than Loved ★ Pablo Gavi

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★☆★☆★

Lucia's Confession

★☆★☆★

I had been trapped in this hospital room for five long days, including the three I had spent unconscious in what the doctors insisted on calling a 'coma.' They made it sound so dramatic, but to me, it was nothing more than time stolen from my lifetime I would never get back. Thankfully, tomorrow I will finally be discharged. The doctors wanted to keep me under observation for just one more night, monitoring my vitals, and ensuring everything was functioning as it should. Honestly, I felt much better. My body no longer ached with every movement, and I was regaining my strength little by little.

Lying on my bed, propped up against a stack of pillows, I scrolled mindlessly through Instagram. The distraction was welcome. The bright screen reflected a world that had moved on without me. People posted their outings, their parties, their seemingly perfect lives, while I was stuck here, recovering from something I barely remembered.

That was until a soft knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced up as the nurse peeked inside. "Cassie, you have a visitor."

I hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Let them in." I assumed it would be my parents or friends coming to keep me company but as the door swung open, my entire body tensed the moment I saw her. Lucia. My grip tightened around my phone as anger surged through me like wildfire why the hell was she here, to cause more trouble? To laugh in my face as she now has a chance to get with Pablo? She stood awkwardly in the doorway before taking a tentative step forward, seeing the expression on my face, knowing she wasn't welcome in at all. "Hi, Cassie, I hope everything is okay."

I scoffed, my expression turning cold, she really did not just ask me that right now. "Does everything look okay to you?" I snapped, unable to hold back my resentment. She sighed in response, shifting on her feet. "Cassie, please, just let me talk. After that, I promise I'll leave."

I shook my head, pointing toward the door refusing to even look at her, I hated her for everything that she had done to me. "No. I don't want to hear it. You should—"

Her eyes met mine, pleading. There was something in them I hadn't seen before, genuine regret, maybe even guilt. I exhaled sharply, rolling my eyes. Honestly, I have nothing more to lose, I am stuck here the whole day. "Fine. You have three minutes. Then you're out."

Lucia nodded and took a deep breath. "First of all, I want to say I'm sorry. I haven't treated you fairly from the beginning, and I feel awful thinking about it now—"

I scoffed, my gaze icy. "Sorry won't fix anything, Lucia."

"I know," she admitted quickly. "But I want to be honest with you. Gavi... I always saw him as more than a friend. I had a crush on him for a long time, but that changed the day after I kissed him. You know... that night." My jaw clenched at the mention of it. That night. The night everything shattered.

"Cassie, I regretted it the moment my friends sat me down and made me realize what I had done. That night at the restaurant... I rushed out to find you, to tell you everything, but you were already gone. And Gavi, well he was just standing there, completely broken, in tears. He was a mess." I stared at her, my emotions warring inside me, her voice sounded genuine.

"I told Pedri everything the second I could. I was acting out of jealousy, and I let it get the best of me. But seeing what I did, seeing the pain I caused. You and Gavi were so happy. And I destroyed that." She swallowed hard, her voice softer now. "It was me who kissed him, Cassie. He tried to push me away, and he did. It was nothing but a short, meaningless. And I hate myself for it."