HE LOVED ME LAST

Chapter 55

Alice’s POV

Exams were over.

The last paper had just ended, and a strange emptiness settled in my chest. The kind that comes when you’ve been holding your breath for too long and suddenly exhale without knowing what to do next.

Everyone was talking about prom now.

The final dance. The official goodbye to secondary school.

I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to go. It felt too fancy, too loud, too… not me.

I sat in class, flipping through an old notebook out of habit, when Noah strolled in with his usual grin.

He dropped his bag and walked straight to my desk. “Alice.”

I looked up. “Yeah?”

He rubbed the back of his neck dramatically. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Don’t say no, okay?”

My brows lifted. “What are you doing?”

He dropped to one knee. *One knee!* Right there in class.

People turned.

“Noah,” I hissed, already blushing.

He grinned wider. “Alice, will you be my prom date?”

I stared at him, half-laughing, half-mortified. “Get up.”

“Not until you say yes.”

I glanced around. A few students were watching now, amused. I caught Lucas sitting near the back, leaning against his desk, arms folded… eyes on *me.*

His face was unreadable.

I turned back to Noah.

“Fine,” I said, smiling. “Yes.”

Cheers broke out. A few claps. Noah stood and bowed jokingly, then sat beside me, nudging my arm. “Told you not to say no.”

Across the room, I heard a chair scrape loudly.

Amelia.

She stood up suddenly, flicking her perfect curls over her shoulder.

“Lucas,” she said sweetly. “Will *you* be my prom date?”

The room went silent.

My smile dropped, just a little.

I didn’t turn to look, but I could feel him hesitating. The air was thick with tension. And then—

“Yeah,” Lucas said flatly.

I finally looked his way.

He wasn’t looking at Amelia.

He was looking at *me.*

And for a moment, our eyes locked.

I looked away first.

But my heart was thudding too hard to ignore.

Noah was still grinning beside me like he’d just won a trophy.

“You know,” he said, leaning closer, “I was actually nervous asking you.”

I smiled faintly, trying to stay in the moment, but my mind was elsewhere—behind me.

“I mean, I knew you’d say yes,” he added with a wink. “But you took long enough.”

I laughed softly, but it felt like it didn’t reach my chest. My smile was there, my nods were automatic, but something felt off.

I could still feel *his* eyes on me.

Lucas.

I hadn’t turned again, but the room had changed. The buzz, the tension. I knew what had just happened behind me without even watching it unfold.

Amelia had stood. Asked him.

And he’d said yes.

Of course he did.

They matched. On paper, in presence, in social circle. Everyone expected it. Maybe they even *wanted* it.

But why did it feel like a slap?

I told myself it didn’t matter. I’d said yes to Noah. I made a choice. A simple one.

He was kind. He made me laugh. He was safe.

And Lucas?

Lucas was anything but.

He confused me. Challenged me. Stirred things I didn’t even know how to name.

But he was no longer in my world—not since I’d pushed him out.