𝕯𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒𝖎𝖓

𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙣' | 𝙀𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉 ♡

𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙞 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙣

♛ 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙜𝙤 , 𝙄𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙨 ♛

__________

All I could hear was the pounding in my ears, the weight of what I was about to say crushing me from the inside. Jaden was still down on one knee, holding out the ring, waiting. I could see the joy in his eyes—joy that I wasn't feeling, at least not in the way I should've been.

Everything was falling apart. I could feel it. I hadn't planned for this, none of us had. But now it was all coming to the surface, and I had no idea how to stop it from blowing up in our faces.

"Lori?" Jaden's voice was soft, still full of that same hope and love I'd known for years. "Baby, you okay? You ain't said nothin' yet."

My mouth went dry, the words stuck in my throat. How was I supposed to tell him? How was I supposed to say that, as much as I loved him, something else had started growing inside me, something I couldn't ignore anymore? My eyes flicked over to Amir. He was at the table with Sasha, StarJai, and Cota, looking at me like he already knew what was coming.

I couldn't breathe. Everything felt too heavy, too fast. My heart was caught between these two men, and it was tearing me apart.

"I—" I started, but my voice cracked. I felt my hands start to tremble, and I clutched the edge of the table like it could keep me grounded. "Jaden... I—there's somethin' I need to tell you."

Jaden's smile faltered. He stood up slowly, his face creased with confusion. "Tell me what? What's goin' on, Lorelai? You been actin' different for weeks."

I couldn't look him in the eye. How could I tell him that his best friend and I were connected in ways that didn't make sense? That, for weeks now, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about Amir? It wasn't fair. None of this was fair to him.

Jaden stepped closer, his voice dropping. "Lori, you scarin' me. What's goin' on?"

"I can't do this," I finally whispered, my voice shaking. "Jaden, I love you. I do. But there's somethin' you don't know."

He froze, confusion clouding his face. "What you mean? What's there to know?"

I bit my lip, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes. I didn't wanna hurt him, but I couldn't keep lying. Not to him, not to myself. "Me and Amir... we've been... havin' these dreams."

His eyebrows pulled together, and for a second, I could see the disbelief wash over him. "Dreams?" He let out a short laugh, trying to shake off whatever he thought I was saying. "You serious right now? What kinda dreams?"

"They're real, Jaden. They started before we even met." My voice was barely above a whisper. "It's been goin' on for a while now. I didn't want to believe it at first, but I can't ignore it anymore."