As the sunset started to form, Denise moved gracefully, lighting the candles one by one, their soft glow flickering against the growing dusk. The room seemed to exhale with the quiet crackle of each flame, but the conversation had shifted, and with it, so had my confidence. Suddenly, I felt small—like an insecure little girl, a feeling I loathed with every part of me. My mind raced, spiraling into a whirlwind of self-doubt. Maybe I'm not ready for this... maybe I can't handle what it means to be Jude's girlfriend in the spotlight, even if it's not true. I'll still have to deal with everything as if it was.
The silence stretched as Denise focused on the candles, each pause between her words growing longer, more unbearable. The wait was suffocating, and not even Jude's gentle squeezes on my leg, meant to comfort me, could quiet the storm brewing inside. The weight of her words —unspoken yet lingering — pressed down on me. I could sense her uncertainty, and it clawed at my already fragile composure.
