𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍，Paul Lahote【𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍】

⸢𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧' 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧.⸥

Paul never wanted to leave Giselle. They'd been best friends for almost two decades, surviving everything life threw at them-awkward teenage years, bad decisions, and his endless supply of screw-ups. Their bond was practically unbreakable-until he started getting all complicated about his feelings.

See, Paul didn't ask for the shapeshifter curse, nor did he ask for the kind of mother who taught him how to ruin everything he touched. And now, with Giselle, he was terrified that any commitment he made would turn out just as badly. He didn't want to drag her into that.

But Giselle? She was pure sunshine-an actual human angel. Her kindness and goodness were a universe away from his messed-up reality. She'd been his constant, the one person who could always bring him back from the edge. She was perfect. The kind of perfect that made him feel like he didn't deserve her... but he'd never admit it. Because, you know, admitting feelings is hard, especially when you've spent your whole life avoiding them.

So, what did he do? He pulled away. Again. Because that's totally the best way to deal with the woman who's been your rock for almost two decades, right? Just push her away and pretend everything's fine. It's fine.

Because, of course, that's the healthiest response when the woman you've been best friends with for nearly two decades is standing right there, being perfect in every way. It makes total sense.

｢𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘹 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳.
𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘛𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯.｣