By nightfall, the weight of it settled in.
Not guilt. Not regret.
Recognition.
I wanted Cassian's ease.
I wanted Jude's history.
And I wanted to stop pretending that wanting both was temporary.
I met Cassian at the water's edge after sunset. No crowd. No audience. Just the sound of waves and the truth pressing in.
He didn't smile when he saw my face.
"You talked to him," he said.
"Yes."
"And?"
"And it didn't change how I feel about you."
He exhaled slowly. "That's not an answer."
I stepped closer. Close enough that my hands rested against his chest without thinking.
"This isn't about replacing anyone," I said. "It's about me finally not cutting myself in half to be acceptable."
Cassian looked down at my hands, then back at my face. "I don't want to be someone you try not to want."
"I'm not," I said. "I'm scared of how much I do."
That was the first real admission.
Something softened in his expression. He leaned his forehead against mine, breath warm, steady.
"You don't have to choose tonight," he said. "But you do have to be honest."
I nodded.
"I don't know how this ends," I said. "But I know I'm done pretending it's simple."
His arms wrapped around me then. Slow. Intentional. Holding, not claiming.
For a moment, I let myself stay there. Let myself feel chosen without conditions.
Across town, I knew Jude was awake.
Not watching. Not interfering.
Feeling.
And for the first time since I came back, I understood the real danger.
Not scandal.
Not gossip.
Not jealousy.
It was that eventually, one of them would ask for something I wasn't sure I could give.
And when that moment came?
I wouldn't be able to flirt my way out of it.