lover boy

Chapter 47

Cecilia Anderson

Later that night, after a long and emotionally draining day, I found myself curled up on the sofa in my flat. The lights were dim, and the soft glow of the city filtered through the curtains. Outside, the occasional sound of traffic echoed in the distance, but inside, everything was still. I welcomed the silence, the space to finally breathe after the whirlwind of emotions that had consumed me since that moment in the hospital.

I couldn't shake the image of Jude from my mind—seeing him with that little girl, Mia. The way he spoke to her, how gentle and caring he had been... It stirred something deep inside me, something I hadn't felt in a long time. It reminded me of the Jude I once knew—the Jude who had a heart of gold, beneath all the fame and the chaos that surrounded his life.

But then there was Gavi.

He was different. Charming, playful, and so easy to talk to. After our encounter at the hospital, I couldn't stop thinking about him either. The way he had been so effortlessly flirty, the way he made me laugh even in the midst of a serious situation... It was refreshing. And yet, confusing. I had spent so long trying to move on from Jude, to build a life that didn't revolve around him. But now, with Gavi in the picture, everything felt even more complicated.

I sighed, sinking deeper into the cushions of the sofa, my thoughts swirling in a confusing, tangled mess. I reached for my phone, mindlessly scrolling through notifications when a new message popped up on my screen.

It was from Jude:

Hey. I think I saw you at the hospital today. Was it you?

My heart skipped a beat as I stared at the screen. A thousand thoughts raced through my mind at once. He had seen me. He had noticed. And now, he was reaching out.

But why? Was it out of curiosity, or was there something more to it? Did he still care? Or was he just trying to get answers, like I was?

I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the keyboard. What should I say? Should I be honest, or should I brush it off? My thoughts drifted back to Gavi. What if Jude had heard something? What if he already knew about our conversation? The idea of Jude finding out about Gavi made my stomach twist with guilt, even though nothing had really happened between us—yet.

Finally, I took a deep breath and began typing:

Yeah, maybe that was me. I'm doing my internship at the hospital now.

I hit send before I could overthink it. There was a strange sense of relief in admitting the truth, but also a growing tension. How would Jude respond? Would he press for more information? And if he did, how much was I willing to tell him?

As I waited for his reply, a notification from Instagram popped up. I glanced at it and froze when I saw Gavi's name. He had sent me a direct message.

I hesitated for a moment, torn between Jude's message and the new one from Gavi. With a mix of curiosity and nervousness, I opened the message from Gavi:

Hola, Cecilia :) Hope you're doing well. Just wanted to say thanks again for being such a great help at the hospital today. You really know how to make a bad day better. Maybe we could grab a coffee sometime? Just as a thank you, of course ;)

A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips. His playful tone was infectious, and for a moment, I forgot about the heaviness of everything else. Gavi had a way of making things feel light, uncomplicated. But as I stared at his message, the reality of the situation began to sink in.

What was I doing? I was caught between two worlds, two men who represented entirely different parts of my life. On one hand, there was Jude—my past, my unresolved feelings, the man I had once loved deeply and maybe still did. On the other hand, there was Gavi—new, exciting, a potential fresh start that didn't carry the weight of history.