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“That relationship started as some teenage game neither of us knew how or when to end,” I admit honestly.

I realized that a long time ago. Long before we actually broke up, I had already made peace with the idea.

“We were tied to each other only because we grew up believing we were supposed to be together, and neither of us knew how to live differently,” I explain as clearly as I can. “But we didn’t truly want to be there, and neither of us was happy.”

I cup his face in my hands and move even closer to him.

“So please, Zayn, don’t ever think for a second that there’s competition for you or any possibility of me going back to someone… because there isn’t.”

My thumb brushes slowly across his skin as I hold his face between my hands.

“This is the first mature relationship I’ve ever had, and what I feel with you, what I feel for you, proves that I was right all along. What existed between me and him in the last years was a friendship mistaken for love.”

Zayn exhales slowly, a smile spreading across his handsome face so beautifully that it makes me fall even harder for him.

“For the first time in my adult life,” I whisper. “I’m in love…”

My gaze locks onto his.

“With you, Zayn Thomas.”

FIFTY-ONE

Zayn

“With you, Zayn Thomas.”

Her confession is followed by a kiss that awakens every cell in my body.

The peace that settles over me afterward is impossible to explain. It’s the sensation of everything around me finally falling into place, every problem somehow resolving itself, every breath feeling cleaner, lighter, easier to draw into my lungs.

Selene holds me so tightly, as if the slightest bit of distance might make me disappear. I understand that fear perfectly because my arms are wrapped around her just as firmly, unwilling to let go.

“I love you,” I whisper, touching her lips. “I love you, Selene,” I repeat, needing to make sure she understands just how deeply I mean it.

“I would hope so, Zayn,” she answers with a laugh, tears still glistening in her beautiful eyes. “Because you don’t really have a choice. There is no reality where you don’t stay with me.”

After stealing another quick kiss, she adds, “I mean… I realized there’s no version of my life where I don’t have you in it, so you’ll have to deal with that.”

I laugh softly, leaning back against the headboard. Selene settles with her head in my lap, facing me, and for a moment, nothing else seems to exist.

My fingers drift through her blonde hair, gently combing through the silky strands, as lazy circles trace over my chest.

“I understood what you said, babe,” I tell her quietly. “But unfortunately, I can’t accept you having him as a friend either.”

I need to make myself clear because I know I’ll never be able to handle seeing her around him again, or even knowing they’re talking about anything at all. More than that, I want to know whether she can accept my terms.

“I don’t see him as competition. I wouldn’t have, even if you’d told me your relationship was great back then,” I continue. “But he’s still a man who had you, and I’ll never accept him being around you. Which means whatever was between you two ended the moment you started a relationship with me.”

“Unfortunately, I think I was the only one who realized what that relationship was actually built on, so honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to stay friends with him anyway.”

Silence lingers for a moment, then a soft smile touches her lips as she continues, “I’m sorry things ended the way they did, and I truly wish him the best, but everyone has the right to choose their own happiness…”

Her gaze finds mine and holds it.

“And you are my happiness, Zayn.”

“Jesus,” I say with a grin. “I think I’m going to need you to repeat all these confessions at least five times a day.”