Prologue Her voice was steady, but her heart wasn't. The words hung in the air between them simple, yet heavy with all the emotions she wasn't ready to say out loud. I like you didn't fully capture it. Not even close. But it was the safest way to reveal what her heart had been whispering for far too long. He blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before his signature smile appeared. That smile, so familiar, so warm, had always been her undoing. "You like me?" he repeated, his tone light, teasing. He didn't understand. "Yes," she said, her voice quieter this time. Her gaze dropped to the ground, unable to meet his eyes. She couldn't bear to look at him anymore. His laugh broke the silence soft, awkward. "Of course you do. You're my best friend." There it was. The words she had feared the most. "You're the person I trust most in the world," he continued, his voice gentle, as if he thought he was reassuring her. "You've always been there for me, and I'll always be there for you. I mean it." She forced a smile, nodding, pretending it was enough. But it wasn't. It was never enough. What he didn't know what he couldn't see was that I like you wasn't just a confession. It wasn't some fleeting feeling. It was everything. But he wasn't looking at her that way. He never had. His heart was somewhere else, chasing a girl who barely noticed him, someone who didn't understand him the way she did. And yet, she stayed. She smiled. She laughed. She played the role of the best friend he needed, even as her heart cracked a little more each time. What she didn't realize was that the story wasn't ending here. Life has a funny way of twisting what we think we know. Feelings change. People change. And sometimes, the love you've been chasing is the love that's been standing beside you all along.