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Reaching out, I gently brush the hair back from his forehead. “I’m really sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“None of this is your fault. Sebastian’s always been jealous of what we have.”

Jealous. It’s not like Sebastian to lash out like this. Not until now, at least. But then again… Why did he think Jason and I would be together? Wait.

“What we have?” I ask.

“Being childhood friends.”

“Mh. Just keep away from him. Don’t prov—”

Jason scoffs. “You think it’s my fault?”

“No. I… I’ll walk you to your dorm so you can rest.”

Jason covers my hand with his. “Do you want to stay for dinner tonight? I can make us something to eat.”

“I can’t. I have some studying I need to finish.”

“Are you going to him?” Jason stands up.

“No.” Probably. Definitely. Yes.

I walk Jason to his dorm, where he tries to convince me to stay for dinner, but I can’t focus on anything he’s saying. All I can think about is the broken look in Sebastian’s eyes when he walked past me. After three no’s, he gives up, and as soon as I’m out of sight, I break into a run back to my dorm.

What am I doing? Sebastian hurt me. He lied to me. Why am I even considering this?

I push open the door and head straight for the kitchen, grabbing my apron off the hook. I tie it around my waist with shaking hands.

Baking. And while I do that I’m going to decide if I’ll bring them to Sebastian or eat them all myself and wallow in self-pity.Maybe share them with Gemma and Mary because otherwise, they would kill me if they knew.

I gather all the ingredients for my signature chocolate cupcakes, measuring and mixing on autopilot.

Part of me wants to run to him, to tell him that I’m sorry for pushing him away, that I don’t care about our families’ history, and that I want to be with him. But the other part of me is scared of trusting someone who’s already lied to me once.

Fantastic. Why does this have to be so complicated?

I scoop the dough onto the baking sheet and place the tray into the oven.

He’s crawled his way into my heart, whether my family likes it or not.

I lean against the counter, staring at the timer as it counts down the minutes. Twelve minutes until the cupcakes are done. Twelve minutes to decide what I’m going to do.

Do I go to him, risk everything for a chance at something real? Or do I stay here, safe in my little bubble? Hiding away.

Just in case, I should bring something for his bruises, right? I rummage through the bathroom until I find some arnica cream and go back into the kitchen.

He made me happy. He made the nightmares go away, and he didn’t push me into anything I didn’t want. He listened, noticed little details, and held me close every night… I miss him. All the time. Would someone who only wanted to use me do all that?

The timer dings, and I know exactly where I’m supposed to be.

I pull the tray out of the oven, the smell of warm chocolate filling the kitchen.

I want Sebastian. I want us.

It’s time.

Before I can second-guess myself, I grab a box, fill it with cupcakes, put it in a bag with the cream, and head for the door.

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