The wrong reason
1257 Words
Selene POV
By the time Louis pulled the car into the driveway, the winter air had turned even colder.
I was still rubbing my hands together when he stepped out and came around to my side of the car.
Before I could reach for the handle, he opened the door for me.
“Thank you,” I said, not giving too much thought to his kind gesture.
“You're welcome,” he replied with a not so big smile.
That was Louis. Doing the loudest things without making it look like a hassle.
I stepped out of the car and immediately heard a familiar voice.
“My little baby!”
My head snapped toward the front porch.
“Aunty Patricia?”
“Selene!!” She squealed and practically ran down the steps.
I laughed just before she wrapped both arms around me.
“Oh my goodness.” She held me at arm's length. “Look at you.”
“Aunty Pat.”
“No, seriously. Look at you.”
I couldn't stop smiling. The last time she'd seen me in person, I was sixteen. After that, it had only been video calls, holiday messages, and photographs.
Now she kept touching my cheeks like she couldn't believe I was real.
“You've grown so much.”
“Mum says the same thing every year.”
“Because it's true.”
I laughed again.
Behind us, Louis had already opened the trunk and started off-loading the shopping bags.
A moment later, Mum appeared from the front door.
“Already acting like love birds as always?” She smiled at Aunty Patricia and I.
“It always comes naturally.” Aunty Pat replied with a soft smile.
I only smiled back.
“Let me help you with those.” Mum said, immediately heading toward Louis.
"I've got them," Louis replied.
“I insist.” Before he could argue further, she'd already taken two bags from him.
Aunty Patricia linked her arm through mine and pulled me closer to herself. “Let's go inside so I can look at you properly.”
“You make it sound like I'm an exhibit.”
“You practically are.”
I laughed again and followed her inside.
The moment we stepped into the living room, she started talking. “I still remember when you were sixteen.”
“Please don't.”
“You were awkward.”
“Aunty Pat, can we not do this?”
“Always arguing with your mother over every single thing.”
I groaned. “That wasn't me.”
“It was absolutely you.”
“It wasn't.”
“It was.”
We both laughed.
For the first time all day, I actually felt relaxed.
Then I looked up, and everything disappeared.
Edward was walking down the staircase.
My heart started racing like I had run a marathon.
Good Lord.
How was this still happening?
We'd already agreed to leave the past where it belonged.
So why did seeing him still affect me like this?
“You're back.” His voice was calm. Normal.
Like he wasn't responsible for eighty percent of my current stress.
“Y..Yea…h.”
Wonderful.
Now I can't even speak properly.
Edward nodded.
“How was the market?”
“Good.”
Aunty Patricia glanced between us and smiled.
“Such a gentleman your mother found for herself. Perfect father figure for my baby too.”
My stomach tightened, but I managed to nod with a small smile.
Edward smiled too. “Hilda says you're her favorite sister.”
“That's because I'm the fun one.”
“I heard that!” Mum's voice floated from the hallway as she walked into the room carrying grocery bags.
Louis followed behind her.
Then Mum stopped as she moved her eyes from me to Louis.
A smile immediately spread across her face.
Uh-oh.
I knew that look.
“And I think Selene might have found herself a good man too.”
My entire body froze.
“Mum!”
“What?” she asked with an innocent look.
Aunty Patricia gasped.
“Oh my God.”
“No.”
“Oh my God.”
“Aunty Patricia, please.”
She ignored me completely.
“You two would be adorable together.”
Trickles of heat climbed down my face.
Normally I would've laughed it off.
Made a joke.
Changed the subject.
Anything.
But then I made the mistake of looking toward Edward.
His expression didn't change.
Not even a little.
Yet somehow that made it worse, because suddenly I became aware of everything.
The secret.
The guilt.
The way my pulse still reacted whenever he entered a room.
The fact that I hated myself for it.
I was tired.
Tired of feeling guilty.
Tired of feeling nervous and acting like my entire world wasn't hanging by a thread.
My eyes shifted to Louis, and before I could stop myself, I crossed the room.
“Selene?” Mum frowned.
I barely heard her.
I stopped in front of Louis.
His brows lifted slightly in confusion, like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with me.
I didn't give myself time to think.
If I thought about it, I wouldn't do it.
“Selene?” he called out calmly.
I ignored him and grabbed the front of his jacket.
“Selene what's wr…”
I crashed my lips against him, cutting him off before he could finish.
The room went completely silent.
For one brief second, Louis froze.
Surprised.
Then he gently wrapped his hand around the small of my waist.
A soft gasp echoed behind us.
Then another.
“Oh my God.”
Aunty Patricia. Of course it was her.
When I finally pulled back, my heart was pounding fast.
Louis stared at me.
He didn't seem angry or shocked… Just searching my face for answers, trying to understand why I did it.
And somehow that made everything worse.
Because Louis deserved honesty and I wasn't giving him any.
“And I think it's a match!” Aunty Patricia announced proudly.
Mum looked ready to cry.
“This is so…” She immediately grabbed Edward's arm. “You think they'll make a great couple too, right?”
Edward nodded once. “I guess.”
The words hit harder than they should have. Is that what he really thinks?
“You see?” Mum’s face beamed with a smile.
Aunty Patricia clapped. “I should go get the bed ready for tonight.”
“Patricia!” Mum warned.
“What? I'm just happy.”
I couldn't breathe.
Louis was still looking at me, trying to figure out what was wrong.
“I'm sorry,” I blurted.
His brows furrowed.
“Selene—”
But I was already backing away and ran upstairs.
I didn't stop until I reached my room.
The moment the door closed behind me, I leaned against it and squeezed my eyes shut.
What was wrong with me?
What possessed me to do that?
I pressed both palms against my face and groaned.
Kissing Louis in front of everyone had seemed like a good idea for exactly three seconds.
Now I wanted to crawl under the bed and stay there until New Year.
A soft knock sounded on the door.
My heart nearly jumped into my throat.
‘Please don't be Louis.’ I prayed silently.
Louis was the last person I wanted to see.
How can I face after what I did downstairs?
I felt so terrible at that point.
Another knock followed.
“Selene?”
- Writer
