MY LIFE RIGHT NOW

CHAPTER NINE

THE TRUTH I COULDN'T HIDE FROM-

LUNA'S POV-

The truth is...

You can lie to other people.

But eventually?

You get tired of lying to yourself.

And the biggest truth I couldn't hide from was this:

I wasn't fully okay.

Not really.

I kept acting strong.

Acting unbothered.

Laughing things off.

Saying, "I'm fine."

But deep down?

Everything that happened still sat somewhere inside me.

Jake made me question trust.

Xavier made me question intentions.

Gabriel made me question kindness.

And somehow-

I started questioning myself too.

Maybe Amelia noticed first.

Because one afternoon, while we were sitting together, she suddenly asked-

"Are you actually okay?"

I laughed.

"Obviously."

She gave me that look.

The one that says:

Stop lying.

"No seriously, Luna."

And for some reason...

That question hit differently.

Because honestly?

I didn't even know.

Was I okay?

Or was I just distracted?

N: Sometimes pain doesn't look dramatic. Sometimes it just looks like pretending.

Days passed.

School.

House.

Same routine.

Same fake "I'm good."

Until one day-

Everything got worse.

The bad part.

Because somehow...

Rumors started.

The annoying type.

People talking.

Assuming things.

Mixing stories.

Suddenly, it felt like everybody had an opinion about me.

Who I talked to.

Who liked me.

Who I liked.

Who I rejected.

And honestly?

I was exhausted.

Like genuinely tired.

One day, I got home and just cried.

Not because of one person.

Not because of one situation.

But because everything felt heavy.

Like I had been carrying too much for too long.

And the worst part?

I blamed myself.

Maybe if I talked less.

Maybe if I stayed distant.

Maybe if I never got close to anybody-

Things would be easier.

But isolating myself didn't make me feel better.

It just made me feel alone.

LUNA'S POV-

Then came the good part.

Unexpectedly.

Quietly.

Not through romance.

Not through some magical person fixing everything.

But through me.

Slowly...

I started choosing myself again.

I started laughing more.

Focusing on school.

Spending time with people who actually made me feel calm.

People who didn't make life feel stressful.

I learned something important:

Not everybody who comes into your life is meant to stay.

Some people are lessons.

Some are mistakes.

And some?

They just show you what you should never accept again.

One evening, I looked at myself and realized something.

I survived all of it.

The confusion.

The lies.

The disappointment.

And somehow...

I was still me.

Maybe a little wiser.

A little more careful.

But stronger.

And for the first time in a long time-

I stopped asking:

"Why did this happen to me?"

And started asking:

"What did this teach me?"

Because maybe...

The truth I couldn't hide from was simple:

I deserved better.

Better friendships.

Better treatment.

Better peace.

And most importantly-

Better than settling.

N: Sometimes the best glow-up isn't revenge.

It's healing so well that what once broke you no longer controls you.

Healing sounds nice when people talk about it.

But nobody tells you the annoying part-

How healing isn't straight.

One day you feel okay.

The next day?

Something random reminds you of everything.

A song.

A message.

A memory.

Even seeing somebody's name pop up somewhere.

And suddenly-

You're thinking again.

Overthinking again.

But this time?

Something about me had changed.

Because even when memories came back-

I no longer wanted to go back.

That mattered.

A lot.

One afternoon after school, Amelia looked at me suspiciously.

"You've been too quiet."

I shrugged.

"Maybe I just like peace now."

She laughed.

"No, seriously. You don't even entertain drama anymore."

And honestly?

She was right.

Before, I used to overexplain.

Overthink.

Try to fix situations.

Now?

If something stressed me-

Distance.

Simple.

Growth, I guess.

Or maybe exhaustion.

But healing also came with another truth I hated admitting.

Loneliness.

Because when you stop entertaining nonsense-

You realize how quiet life gets.

No random chaos.

No confusing situationships.

No late-night stress.

Just...

You.

And your thoughts.

And honestly?

That part scared me at first.

Because who was I without all the mess?

Without constantly worrying about somebody?

Without trying to understand people who clearly didn't understand themselves?

Turns out-

I was still me.

Just calmer.

Smarter.

Less willing to settle.

Then one random evening-

I found myself rereading old chats.

Terrible idea.

Because suddenly I was cringing.

Like wow.

Was I actually tolerating this?

The excuses.

The confusion.

The mixed signals.

The unnecessary stress.

Jake's lies.

Xavier's pressure.

Gabriel's possessiveness.

Even Zane's complicated situation.

And for the first time-

I didn't feel sad.

I felt proud.

Because younger me would've stayed longer.

Made excuses.

Hoped harder.

But current me?

No.

I had standards now.

Peace included.

LUNA'S POV-

Then came the moment that shocked me.

One night, while staring at my ceiling for absolutely no reason, I realized something:

Maybe love wasn't supposed to feel hard.

Maybe I had been confusing stress with feelings.

Confusion with connection.

Attention with care.

And suddenly-

Everything made sense.

Because the truth I couldn't hide from anymore was this:

I wasn't hard to love.

I had just been around people who didn't know how to love properly.

And that realization?

Changed something in me.

Completely.

Because for the first time-

I stopped waiting for people to choose me.

I chose myself first.

And somehow...

Life started feeling lighter.

But of course-

Life being life-

Peace never stays quiet for too long.

Because just when everything finally felt calm...

Someone unexpected came back.

And trust me-

I wasn't ready for it.