THEO'S POV:
After coming home, I rushed to my room, locked the door, and sat at my desk.
Was it real? Did she really kiss me?
It's not the first time… but every kiss of hers feels like the first.
Oh God, I'm acting like a child. Why are my cheeks flushed and red?
I touched my cheeks.
I took my diary from the drawer and wrote the whole scene in it.
Memories came flashing through my mind, and I froze for a moment. I touched my lips where she kissed me and felt flustered and shy.
Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door. I quickly closed the diary, put it back in the drawer, and jumped onto the bed, pretending to sleep.
It was Kayla. I heard her voice.
"Theo? Are you awake?"
I continued pretending to sleep.
She sat beside me on the bed and ran her hand through my hair.
Still pretending to sleep.
After a moment of silence, she spoke.
"Theo… you're my best friend. I still remember how you used to write poems for me and how you took care of me in childhood. Thank you so much for that…"
Her voice trembled. I could feel her tears even with my eyes closed.
"…thank you for always being there for me. Thank you for being my family. You're perfect… a perfect friend… a perfect best friend. And you would be a perfect husband too, someday, I know that."
My chest tightened.
"Remember how you used to imagine silly things as a child, being my husband, having children, living in a big mansion like I wanted…"
She chuckled softly, tears slipping through her voice.
"It all felt like a beautiful dream, didn't it? But reality is harsh. In reality, you'll have all of that a big mansion, a beautiful life but not me in it."
My breath hitched, but I kept pretending to sleep.
"It's not that I don't like you or that I hate you… it's just that my heart belongs to someone else. It can't be yours."
I clenched my fists beneath the sheets.
"I know I'm being foolish. You don't even have those feelings for me. Still, I don't want to end up in a mess. I never want to stand at a point where I have to choose between my love and you."
Her voice broke.
"Even though I know it will never happen… what if it did? And I lost you?"
She sniffed.
"I don't want that. I don't want to lose you. Please, Theo… never make me lose you."
Tears slipped from my closed eyes.
"I'll shatter if you do. Losing you would break me from the inside. You're my courage, my support, my foundation. Without you, I'm nothing."
She took a shaky breath.
"People think I always get everything I want… but they don't know you're the one who gave me the courage to achieve it all. I reach the top because I know you'll never let me fall."
She stood up, wiped her tears, and left, closing the door softly behind her.
I slowly opened my eyes. My tears finally fell freely.
Don't worry, Kayla. I won't let that happen.
I'll never make you choose between me and your love, even if I have to sacrifice my own love for you.
It's okay for me.
I promise.