Myla Doherty is the kind of girl people don't worry about. Sweet, soft-spoken, always smiling. With ginger curls and a heart like spun gold, she's the safe one. The friend who remembers birthdays, texts back fast, and forgives more than she should. Her world is quiet, mostly. Two parents are always working. A boyfriend named Shay, who's good enough on paper. And a circle of girls who'd burn the world down for her-if she ever let them see how lonely she really gets. But then there's Elliot Holland. The boy who disappears for days without warning. The one with anger in his eyes and a chip on his shoulder the size of everything he won't say. Fights follow him like shadows. So do the rumours. But none of that ever scared Myla-because she met him before the world turned him sharp. Back in first year at Tommen, when he sat beside her in class and made her laugh like no one else ever could. She called him her friend. He called himself her charity case. Now, years later, nothing's simple anymore. Elliot's still half in, half out. Still angry. Still protective in a way he doesn't show. Especially around Shay-Myla's picture-perfect boyfriend who Elliot can't stand but never says a word about. Because that's not his place. Not anymore. Except Myla keeps looking at him like she still sees the boy he used to be. And Elliot keeps finding reasons to stay longer than he should. And maybe whatever this is between them isn't done. Not really. Not yet. Some people haunt you. Others ruin you quietly. But the worst ones? They stay in your life, smiling-while you're still trying to forget what it felt like to matter to them.
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