Nonreciprocal Love (COMPLETED)

Chapter 31

A/N: Sorry guys! You'll be hearing a lot of apologies from me for not updating sooner. Life has been crazy busy but we'll get through it together!

Happy reading y'all!
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Chapter 31

"Are you okay?" Jared asked, taking a seat beside Chloe on the couch. She was having a rerun of Friends to relax after a stressful day at work. They had to finish composing songs for a new rising star for his very first album.

"I'm fine." She shortly answered, turning her attention back on the screen.

"I was talking about the whole 'Ace-is-back' thing..." He corrected.

"I'm still fine." She nonchalantly replied, keeping her gaze on Matt Le Blanc from Friends.

Jared sighed, took the remote from the centre table, and turned off the TV. "Hey!" Chloe protested, sending him a glare.

"We have to talk about this." He firmly told her.

"There's nothing to talk about." She argued back, annoyed that she was missing the show even though she had watched it a billion times already.

"Yes, there is. Chloe-" He started but she interrupted him.

"What exactly do you want me to do? What exactly am I suppose to feel? So he's back. But he's only gonna be here for the wedding and he'll be flying back to Connecticut where his life is." She pointed out.

"So that's just it? The universe is literally giving the two of you a second chance at fixing things up and you're just not gonna do anything about it?"

"Second chance?" She repeated and bitterly laughed. "Second chance at what? We were never a thing in the first place, Jare."

Jared sighed, finding it irrelevant to be arguing with her, knowing that she had already made up her mind about the whole situation. "Alright, fine. But look me in the eyes right now and answer me honestly." He commanded, repositioning their bodies so that they were facing each other. "Have you completely moved on from Ace?" He asked her as he stared intently into her orbs.

Chloe took a few seconds before replying. "Yes." She determinedly mutter, hoping that she sounded convincing enough.

Jared knew that she was lying but went along with it anyway. "Okay, then allow me to set you up on a blind date."

Chloe's face contorted at the mention of 'blind date'. Her friends had been trying to set her up with a bunch of guys over the past four years and she had made her unmoving feelings for Ace an excuse to get out of all the blind dates they wanted her to go to. But now that she had just told Jared that she had completely moved on from Ace, she really had no more excuse to get out of it.

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks." She declined, hoping that he would take her answer. She repositioned herself, so that she was facing the TV again. She didn't want Jared to have access on reading her face, especially her eyes. Yes, she had managed to improve her skills at masking her emotions, but having to spend the past four years with Jared made it so easy for him to read her no matter how skillful she tried to conceal her feelings.

"Why not? You've graduated from university, you have a very stable job, and you're continuing to advance in your career. Finding a person to share your every moment with is the only thing that's missing in your life." He stated, pressing onto the matters.

"I have you, my friends, and my family to share my every moment with. And I don't want to get into a relationship right now." She asserted, holding her ground.