A BROKEN TRUST 💔

Every love story has a beginning. Ours began on an ordinary Tuesday in a place I never expected to find love... and neither did the girl standing beside me. --- The suitcase wheels rattled behind me as I stood at the gates of Crestwood University, staring up at the tall buildings like they might swallow me whole. "Deep breaths, Celina." I whispered Lady Katie's words to myself. "You belong anywhere you choose to be, child. Remember that." Lady Katie had raised me at Heritage Children Home since I was six years old. She wasn't my mother by blood, but she was my mother in every way that mattered. She was the one who packed my suitcase that morning folding my clothes neatly, slipping an envelope with her little savings into my pocket when she thought I wasn't looking. An orphan girl, alone in a big university. Terrified? Absolutely. But also hopeful. "Watch it!" A blur of blonde hair and flying books crashed into me, and we both tumbled onto the pathway in a pile of laughter and scattered belongings. "Oh my gosh, I'm SO sorry!" The girl had the brightest smile I'd ever seen. "I'm Sophie. Sophie Laurent. And apparently, I'm also a walking disaster." "Celina," I said, taking her offered hand. "Celina... just Celina." I didn't have a family name I was proud to use. I never had. "Well, just Celina," Sophie giggled, picking up her books, "please tell me you're my new roommate, because I cannot survive this place alone." I checked my admission letter. Room 214, Hartley Hall. Sophie's eyes went wide. "No way. Room 214?! That's MY room!" She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the dormitories like we'd known each other for years. "This is fate, Celina. You're officially stuck with me now." And just like that, I had a sister. --- Sophie was everything I wasn't. She came from a wealthy family, wore the prettiest clothes, and made friends as easily as breathing. She had everything money could buy. But she never made me feel like the orphan charity case. She shared her clothes, her snacks, her life. When I cried on my first night away from Heritage, she climbed into my bed and held my hand until I fell asleep. "You're my person now, Cel," she told me. "Best friends forever. Nothing's ever going to change that." I believed her. I believed everything in those days. --- Two weeks later, Sophie grabbed my arm in the cafeteria and pointed across the hall. "Him. See that guy? The tall one by the window? That's Kian Reeves. Senior. Captain of everything. Rich, gorgeous, and completely out of everyone's league." She sighed dreamily. "I've liked him since orientation day. Don't tell anyone, okay?" "Your secret's safe with me," I promised. She grinned at me. She had no idea what she'd just set in motion. Neither did I. --- I met Kian Reeves exactly three days later in the library, of all places. I was reaching for a book on the top shelf, standing on my toes, when a warm hand plucked it down effortlessly from behind me. "Looking for this?" I turned around and forgot how breathing worked. That was the famous Kian Reeves? Dark hair, easy smile, eyes that looked at me like I was the only person in the room. Up close, he was even more dangerous. "T-thanks," I managed, taking the book. My face was on fire. He didn't walk away. He tilted his head, studying me. "You're Sophie's roommate, right? I've seen you around. You're always reading." "You noticed that?" The words slipped out before I could stop them. He laughed a soft, surprised sound. "Hard not to." That should have been my first warning. The most wanted guy on campus noticing the quiet orphan girl with a secondhand book. But warnings only work if you see them. --- After that day, I started running into Kian everywhere. The library. The coffee shop. The courtyard. He'd smile that smile, ask what I was reading, walk me to class. Sophie noticed before I did. "Okay, why does Kian keep showing up wherever you are?" she asked one night, trying to sound casual. Too casual. My stomach dropped. Sophie liked him. How could I forget? "I don't know," I said quickly. "I'll stop talking to him, I promise. Nothing's going on" "Cel." She waved her hand, laughing. "Relax! I was just asking. We're best friends. A guy could never come between us." She said it so easily. I wanted to believe it. So I did. --- I started avoiding Kian after that. If he waved, I pretended not to see. If he sat near me, I moved. It hurt God, it hurt but Sophie was my sister. Some things matter more than butterflies. Two weeks later, he cornered me behind the library, breathless, like he'd been running. "Okay, what did I do?" he demanded. "One day we're talking, the next you're acting like I'm invisible. Just tell me." "It's nothing, Kian. Really." "Bull." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "Is it because of Sophie?" My heart stopped. "You know?" "Everyone knows Sophie likes me. She's made it pretty obvious." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "But Celina I never gave her any reason to hope. Because from the day you dropped your books and apologized like it was your fault, I haven't been able to think about anyone else." I couldn't breathe. "Kian..." "I like YOU, Celina. Not Sophie. You." His eyes searched mine. "The girl who cries at sad novels. Who gives her lunch away to stray cats. Who smiles like the whole world is brand new." He took my hand. "I don't care if it complicates things. I just need to know if you feel it too." I should have said no. I should have thought of Sophie. But his hand was warm, and his eyes were honest, and my heart was screaming yes. "...I do," I whispered. "I feel it too." He grinned like I'd handed him the moon and right there, behind the library, in front of the whole world, he kissed me. Soft. Sweet. Certain. It was the kind of kiss girls wait their whole lives for. And five meters away, hidden behind the hedges, someone was watching. --- Sophie stood very still. She watched her best friend kiss the boy she'd dreamed about for months the boy who had looked at HER a hundred times and never once seen her that way. Her nails dug crescents into her palms, but her face stayed perfectly calm. Years of practice. "Best friends forever," Celina had said. Sophie smiled slowly, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, and walked away before either of them could see her. Because that's what best friends do. They smile... and wait.