ElafShaikh
Adam shifted in his chair, the knot in his chest tightening. The silence between them was loud in his ears.
He leaned forward. "Ana... can I ask you something?"
She didn't glance up immediately. "Sure" she replied, flipping a page in her notebook.
Adam hesitated, heart hammering. "Have you ever thought about... us? Like, more than just friends?"
Ana froze.
Her pen stilled.
Slowly, she met his eyes, and what he saw there made his heart drop.
"I... don't think we should," she said carefully, her voice low but firm. "I've told you before, Adam. It's not going to happen."
"Ana, I-"
"You deserve someone who can give you what you want," she continued. "That's not me."
Adam swallowed the ache. "I understand."
But he didn't. Not in a way that made it easier to breathe.
"I don't know if I can just stop," he admitted. "You're important to me."
Ana looked away, her heart tightening. "You're a good friend. I don't want to lose that. But I can't offer you anything else. Ever."
A heavy silence fell. Adam stared at the pen in her hand, trying to steady the storm inside him.
"I won't walk away," he said finally. "You deserve someone who really sees you. I'm not going anywhere. Not yet."
Ana bit her lip, fighting the weight of it all. "I'm sorry."
He offered her a sad, quiet smile. "I'll be here, whenever you're ready."
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Anastasia Rodriguez doesn't believe in love.
Not after the heartbreak she endured in high school and the slow destruction of her parents' marriage. For Ana, love is nothing but pain, and marriage is a trap she's determined to avoid.
Then comes Adam King-a man who believes in both love and commitment. Adam is patient, understanding, and refuses to give up on Ana, no matter how many walls she builds around her heart.
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