CHAPTER 2: FALLING
1415 Words
AMARA'S POV
I woke up smiling.
That alone should have warned me.
I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, trying to remember what had happened the night before.
Then I remembered.
Ethan.
His hand in mine.
His voice telling me he was falling in love with me.
And my own voice admitting that I felt the same.
I buried my face in my pillow.
“Oh my God.”
I couldn't stop smiling.
My phone buzzed beside me.
I grabbed it immediately.
Ethan: Good morning, beautiful.
I stared at the message.
Beautiful.
He had called me beautiful.
I typed a reply, deleted it, typed another one, deleted that too.
Finally, I settled on:
Amara: Good morning 😂
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
Ethan: That's all I get?
I smiled.
Amara: What else do you want?
Ethan: I don't know. Maybe “Good morning, handsome. I missed you.”
I laughed.
Amara: You're becoming demanding.
Ethan: Only with you.
My heart fluttered.
I hated how easily he could do that.
Make me smile.
Make me nervous.
Make me forget every promise I'd ever made to myself about never falling in love.
I sat up in bed and looked at the little silver necklace hanging around my neck.
The same necklace he had found weeks ago.
The necklace that had brought us together.
I touched it gently.
Maybe some things really happened for a reason.
Maybe Ethan was one of those things.
---
ETHAN'S POV
I stared at my phone, waiting for her response.
When she finally replied, I smiled.
Amara had no idea what she did to me.
I had met hundreds of people.
Talked to countless girls.
But she was different.
She didn't care about impressing me.
She argued with me.
She rolled her eyes at me.
She laughed when I said something stupid.
And somehow, being around her made me feel like I could be myself.
I had told her I was falling in love with her.
That wasn't the whole truth.
I was already there.
Completely.
I opened our chat again.
Ethan: I'm picking you up after class.
She replied almost immediately.
Amara: Who said you could?
Ethan: Me.
Amara: And if I say no?
Ethan: I'll bring chocolate.
There was a long pause.
Then:
Amara: Fine. 😂
I laughed.
I knew her weakness.
Chocolate.
I put my phone down and leaned back in my chair.
Everything felt perfect.
Almost too perfect.
My phone suddenly buzzed again.
But this time, it wasn't Amara.
It was a message from someone I hadn't spoken to in months.
My smile disappeared.
Unknown Number: We need to talk.
I stared at the screen.
Another message arrived.
Unknown Number: You can't hide forever, Ethan.
My stomach tightened.
I locked my phone.
I didn't want to think about the past.
Not today.
Not when I finally had Amara.
But some secrets don't disappear just because you refuse to talk about them.
They wait.
And eventually, they find their way back to you.
---
AMARA'S POV
By lunchtime, I was already looking for Ethan.
I spotted him near the cafeteria.
He was leaning against a wall, dressed in a simple black shirt and jeans.
Two girls were talking to him.
One of them touched his arm while laughing.
I stopped.
Why did that bother me?
I knew I had no right to be jealous.
We weren't officially together.
At least, we hadn't said the words.
Still, something inside me tightened.
Ethan noticed me.
His face immediately brightened.
“Amara.”
The girls turned around.
He walked straight toward me.
“You're early.”
“I've been here for five minutes.”
“Five minutes is early.”
I smiled.
“Who were they?”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Who?”
“The girls.”
He grinned.
“Are you jealous?”
“No.”
“You answered too quickly.”
“I'm not jealous.”
He leaned closer.
“Sure.”
I pushed his shoulder.
“Stop it.”
He laughed.
Then he handed me a chocolate bar.
I looked at it.
“You remembered.”
“I remember everything about you.”
My smile faded slightly.
“Everything?”
“Everything.”
For a moment, we simply stared at each other.
Then he gently brushed a strand of hair away from my face.
“You look beautiful today.”
I looked down.
“Thank you.”
He lifted my chin.
“Don't hide.”
My heart raced.
“I get shy.”
“I know.”
He smiled.
“And I like it.”
---
ETHAN'S POV
I wanted to kiss her.
God, I wanted to.
But something stopped me.
Maybe it was fear.
Maybe it was the message I'd received that morning.
Maybe it was the feeling that something was about to change.
I looked at Amara.
She was smiling at me like she trusted me completely.
And suddenly, guilt hit me.
Because there was something she didn't know.
Something I should have told her before I let things get this serious.
“Amara…”
She looked at me.
“What?”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
I couldn't tell her.
Not yet.
I convinced myself that I was protecting her.
But sometimes, hiding the truth isn't protection.
Sometimes, it's betrayal waiting to happen.
---
AMARA'S POV
That evening, Ethan took me to a small restaurant.
Nothing fancy.
Just warm lights, soft music, and the smell of freshly cooked food.
I loved it.
We talked for hours.
About our childhoods.
Our dreams.
Our fears.
“What are you afraid of?” Ethan asked.
I looked down at my glass.
“Losing people.”
He became quiet.
“Why?”
“Because everyone leaves eventually.”
He reached across the table and took my hand.
“I won't.”
I looked into his eyes.
“Don't promise things you can't control.”
“I can control this.”
“What?”
“Choosing you.”
My heart broke open.
I smiled.
“Then choose me.”
“I do.”
He squeezed my hand.
“I choose you.”
I believed him.
That was my mistake.
Because I didn't know that sometimes people choose you today and abandon you tomorrow.
---
ETHAN'S POV
When I dropped Amara home, she hugged me before getting out of the car.
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
She opened the door.
Then turned around.
“Ethan?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Three words.
Three simple words.
But they destroyed every wall I had built around my heart.
“I love you too.”
She smiled and disappeared into her house.
I waited until the lights in her bedroom came on.
Then I drove away.
My phone rang.
I looked at the screen.
The same unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice came through.
“You finally answered.”
I gripped the steering wheel.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
“I told you it's over.”
“No, Ethan.”
She laughed softly.
“You told yourself it was over.”
I said nothing.
“Does your new girlfriend know about me?”
My heart stopped.
“Stay away from her.”
“So she doesn't know.”
“Leave her out of this.”
“You should have thought about that before you promised me forever.”
The call ended.
I sat in silence.
Amara's words echoed in my head.
I love you.
I closed my eyes.
For the first time since meeting her, I wondered whether loving me was going to destroy her.
---
AMARA'S POV
That night, I lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
I was happy.
For once, genuinely happy.
I thought about Ethan.
His smile.
His voice.
The way he held my hand.
The way he promised to choose me.
I smiled and closed my eyes.
I didn't know that somewhere across the city, Ethan was sitting alone in his car, holding a secret that could destroy everything between us.
I didn't know there was another woman.
I didn't know she was coming back.
And I definitely didn't know that the love I had just begun to trust would soon become the greatest heartbreak of my life.
Because sometimes the person you fall for isn't the person you think they are.
And sometimes…
the worst betrayal comes from the person you trusted the most.
To be continued… 🥀
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