Chapter 14
He practically shovedinto the hotel's private lounge, the door slamming behind us with a final-sounding
click.
Blocking the exit with his six-foot frame, Aiden towered over me, his perfectly tailored suit doing nothing to hide
the tension in his shoulders. His voice shook with a mixture of anger and disbelief.
“Real mature, Brooklyn! Throwing away everything we planned just to spite me? Running off to Stanford? We had
our whole future mapped out!”
| lifted my chin, finally finding the courage I'd spent all summer building. My voice cout steadier
than | felt.
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“I'm allowed to have my own dreams. Why does my entire life have to revolve around your plans? God,
Aiden, do you even hear yourself?”
| took a deep breath and delivered the blow I'd been holding back: “And be honest - are you really angry
about broken promises, or because you're losing your convenient backup girl?”
The color drained from his face. His perfect prep school composure cracked. “What's that supposed to
mean? Jesus, Brooklyn... Don’t make it sound so... cheap. We're adults. That night... that night was
mutual. Don’t tellyou're still hung up on it?”
Humiliation burned in my chest, but | forced myself to meet his gaze. After all these years, | owed myself
that much.
“If you like Madison, just say it. I'm not pathetic enough to chase someone who doesn’t want me. But you knew
exactly how | felt about you, and you watchedthrow myself at you like slovesick fool. Did you enjoy the
ego boost? Having your childhood friend so desperately in love with you while you chased the popular girl?”
He still didn’t get it. That's the thing about people like Aiden - they never understand that people don’t walk
away until hope is completely dead.
Hit with the unvarnished truth, Aiden’s face flushed red. He stumbled back like I'd physically struck him, his back
hitting the expensive wallpaper. “How can you... what are you even... you...” For once in his life,
the golden boy was speechless.
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Finally, he straightened his tie - a nervous habit I'd watched him develop since his first Model UN conference.
“We've known each other since third grade. We're seniors now. Since you've chosen to throw away a decade of
friendship, let's not pretend anymore. Have fun in California.”
With that, he fled the hotel, leaving ten years of memories hanging in the air between us. The sway
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Seven Years of Love, Seven Minutes et Truth
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Chapter 14
he used to flee when we were kids and | beat him at MaKart - always running when things didn’t go
his way.