Chapter 1: THE BOY SHE HAD LOVED FOR FIVE YEARS
Five years is a long time to love someone who doesn’t love you back.
It’s long enough to memorise the sound of his laughter, recognise his
footsteps in a crowded hallway, and know when something is wrong simply
by looking into his eyes.
It’s long enough to build an entire future around someone who has never
promised you one.
And, if you’re Amara Bennett, it’s long enough to convince yourself that
waiting is another way of loving.
Monday mornings were Amara’s least favourite.
Not because she hated school. Not because of the endless assignments or
the teachers who seemed determined to make every week more exhausting
than the last.
She hated Monday mornings because Adrian Cole always arrived late.
And somehow, she had made that her problem.
Amara sat beside the classroom window, her chin resting in her palm,
watching students wander through the corridor.
Her best friend, Chloe, dropped into the seat beside her.
“You’re doing it again.”
Amara didn’t turn. “Doing what?”
“Waiting for your husband.”
“He’s not my husband.”
“Not yet, apparently.”
“Chloe!”
Chloe laughed, completely unbothered by the glare Amara sent her.
“Five years, Amara. Five whole years. At this point, even your future
children are tired of waiting.”
Amara tried not to smile.
She failed.
“You’re so annoying.”
“And you’re so in love with a boy who hasn’t even had the decency to ask
you out.”
The smile disappeared.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Chloe sighed.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Amara looked down at her notebook.
There was a small drawing in the corner of the page. She had
absentmindedly sketched it while waiting for class to begin.
A pair of eyes.
Adrian’s eyes.
She quickly closed the notebook.
“I just like him,” she whispered.
Chloe’s expression softened.
“Baby, I know.”
“No, you don’t.” Amara swallowed. “Sometimes I think if I could just get
him to understand how I feel, everything would be different.”
“And sometimes I think you deserve someone who doesn’t need five years
to understand that you’re worth loving.”
Amara had no answer.
Because the terrible thing was that she knew Chloe was right.
She simply wasn’t ready to admit it.
Then the classroom door opened.
And there he was.
Adrian Cole.
His schoolbag hung from one shoulder, his dark hair slightly untidy, and
his expression carried that familiar mixture of sleepiness and quiet
confidence.
He exchanged greetings with a few classmates before walking towards his
seat.
Past the windows.
Past Chloe.
Past Amara.
For half a second, his eyes met hers.
He smiled.
“Morning, Mara.”
Two words.
A simple greeting.
Nothing that should have made her heart behave as though it had just
been given a reason to exist.
“Morning,” she replied.
Adrian continued towards his seat.
Amara watched him go.
Chloe leaned towards her.
“Five years,” she whispered.
“Shut up.”
But Amara was smiling again.
And somewhere behind her, a boy who had been sitting quietly in the
classroom watched the exchange.
Nathan Hayes had witnessed that smile more times than he could count.
He had seen it whenever Adrian spoke to her.
He had seen it whenever Adrian walked into a room.
He had even seen the way it disappeared when Adrian turned away.
Nathan knew something Amara didn’t.
He knew that loving someone could become a habit.
And he knew that sometimes, the easiest way to break a habit was to give
someone a reason to start a new one.
Unfortunately for Amara, Nathan had not yet learned the difference
between making someone fall for you and deserving their love.
And unfortunately for Nathan, he was about to learn.
The hard way.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
