“Here,” Aunt said, placing a plate of snacks on the dining table. Her hand brushed my shoulder gently, a small smile playing on her lips. I gave her a soft nod without looking up, my eyes glued to the laptop screen.

  It was the weekend, and I was deep into the research Rowan had emailed me. He wasn’t just serious, he was practically a professor. Every sentence in his email read like a command. But somehow... I didn’t mind.

  “You look weirdly happy,” David said, flopping into the chair next to me. He grabbed a chip from the plate and popped it into his mouth. “Even while doing work.”

  I smirked, eyes still fixed on my screen. “Yeah, I am happy. What about you?”

  David sighed dramatically, leaning back in the chair. “Nora went to the café. With Jake. For their assignment.”

  He made a big show of pouting, his lower lip sticking out like a child who’d just lost his favorite toy. Then he leaned forward again, resting his elbows on the table.

  “Tell me honestly, is he better than me?”

  He stared at me with wide, expectant eyes, his brows raised. I could practically see the fake hurt shimmering in them.

  I stopped typing and looked at him sideways, amused. “What are you even worried about?”

  He sank into the chair again with a dramatic sigh, waving his hand. “You won’t understand.”

  “Okay then,” I said casually, turning back to my laptop.

  “You’re a terrible friend,” he huffed, narrowing his eyes at me.

  I bit back a laugh. “You said I wouldn’t understand. So why should I waste energy asking?”

  Then I glanced at him with a teasing smile. “I’m saving both of us the effort.”

  He gave me a wounded look, placing a hand over his heart like I’d just stabbed it. I shook my head and resumed typing.

  “Hey,” he said again after a moment.

  “Hmm?” I replied, still half-distracted.

  “Do you think there’s any possibility... that they might actually start dating?”

  My fingers froze above the keyboard. Slowly, I turned to him, brows raised. “What, wait a minute...”

  I stared at his face—his nervous shifting, the way he avoided my eyes for a second too long, and how his fingers started tapping lightly on the table.

  “Do you...?”

  He straightened suddenly, his back stiffening like he’d been caught red-handed.

  I pointed a dramatic, accusatory finger at him.

“Actually...?”, His mouth opened, then closed. “It’s not like that, I just...”

  I gasped. “Oh my God. You like her!”

  He looked away, scratching the back of his neck. “Forget it,” he muttered.

  “You and she? That’s a big no,” I said with an exaggerated scoff, waving both hands like I could erase the idea from the air.

  “Why?” he asked, his voice softer now.

  “What do you mean, why?” I gave him an incredulous look. “She’s... she’s... Nora. Forget it.”

  He leaned forward, eyes wide and pleading now, a hint of real emotion surfacing behind the usual drama. “Don’t say that. I like her. A lot.”

  I blinked. His expression wasn’t funny anymore. The smile had dropped from his face, replaced by a kind of honesty I hadn’t seen before.

  I slowly closed my laptop and pushed it aside. “David... she’ll kill you if she finds out.”

  He looked up at me. “Really?”

  “Yeah. You wanna die?”

  He chuckled faintly, then sighed. “Hmm...”

  “What?” I asked sharply, confused.

  “I can’t stop liking her,” he said, his eyes lowered. “It’s been a long time since I’ve held on to my feelings.”

  “Long time?!” I practically shouted, eyes wide in shock.

  From downstairs, Aunt called out, “Aria? What happened?”

  I blinked fast, pulling myself together. “Nothing, Aunt!” I shouted back.

  About fifteen minutes into our conversation, after a mix of teasing, dodging, and convincing, I finally promised David I wouldn’t tell Nora about his feelings.

  “Seriously,” I said. “Not a word. Promise.”

  He gave me a grateful look, then leaned back with a dramatic sigh just as we heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

  We both turned.

  Nora stepped in, brushing her hair behind her ear as she smiled at us. “Hey, guys.”

  We waved at her casually, then instantly looked at each other like two guilty kids caught hiding candy.

  David leaned closer to me and whispered, “She looks happy... maybe she had a great time with him.”

  “Shut up,” I hissed, elbowing him lightly.

  Nora tossed her bag onto the sofa and flopped down beside me. “What were you two whispering about?”

  “Nothing,” I said, flashing a quick smile. “Just that you look stunning.”

  She raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

  “Were you on a date or something?” David asked, tilting his head with a faint grin.

  Now, if I hadn’t just found out about his feelings, I would’ve thought he was just being his usual sarcastic self. But no, this wasn’t teasing.

  That was jealousy. Pure, obvious, helpless jealousy.

  “Why? Should I have gone like a beggar?” Nora shot back with a smirk. “My father’s a billionaire. A little show-off doesn’t hurt.”

  “Whatever,” David muttered, rolling his eyes. “You don’t even like him, so then,”

  He stopped mid-sentence as Nora reached over and smacked him lightly on the head.

  “You wanna fight?” she said with a playful glare.

  David rubbed the back of his head, trying to look annoyed, but he couldn’t hide the faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

  I just sat there watching them, her bold, carefree sass and his quiet, awkward affection. It was such a strange pairing.

  But somehow... it worked.

  Now she was right in front of me, scrolling through her phone with that same smile lingering. David sat beside me, stiff, trying not to look too interested.

  “So...” I leaned forward. “Wanna tell us what happened?”

  “Nothing much,” Nora replied casually. “We went to the café... and that jerk showed up twenty minutes late.”

  “Jerk,” David echoed under his breath with a sly grin.

  I elbowed him. “Behave,” I whispered.

  “So... he’s not good?” I asked, keeping my voice light.

  Nora shrugged. “Oh, he’s good. Just flirts a little. Otherwise, he’s actually really smart. I mean, yeah, he was twenty minutes late, but still handled everything so smoothly. I was kinda impressed.”

  That was all it took.

  “But you said that He’s a jerk!” David suddenly blurted, louder than he probably meant to.

  Nora blinked and turned toward him, suspicious. “What’s wrong with you?”

  I jumped in before David could fumble through a bad excuse. “He doesn’t mean anything. He’s just frustrated because his partner hasn’t shown up even once. Forget about him.”

  Nora studied David for a second longer.

  He looked down at the table and pretended to be interested in a nearby crumb.

  Thankfully, she seemed convinced and let it go with a shrug.

  But I saw it.

  The look David gave me when she wasn’t watching. The silent thank you. The helplessness.

  And I knew... this wasn’t going to be easy for him.

“I’m tired. I’m going to rest in your room,” Nora said, brushing past us without waiting for a response.

She disappeared down the hallway, and David’s eyes followed her until the bedroom door clicked shut behind her.

“Why is she sleeping here?” he asked quietly, still staring at the closed door as if it held answers.

I reopened my laptop and tapped the trackpad. “Her parents are at home today,” I replied simply, clicking open Rowan’s latest email.

Study material. Research links. Academic journals.

But the way I reacted, you’d think they were love letters. I was living in fiction. Floating in that dreamy world I’d always escaped to, where every serious sentence from Rowan somehow felt romantic just because it came from him.

David let out a sigh and dropped his face onto the table with a quiet thud.

“You shouldn’t provoke her,” I warned gently, not looking away from the screen.

He didn’t answer.

But he didn’t need to.

Now that I knew how he felt about her, I could finally see it, the worry in his eyes when she seemed down, the weight in his voice when she wasn’t herself. And somehow, it made perfect sense.

Because I was the same.

We were both in the same boat, liking someone silently, helplessly. Holding our feelings like fragile secrets. Watching from a distance, unsure if we’d ever have the courage to confess… or if the people we liked would ever accept us.

One-sided affection was lonely.

And now, both of us were living in it.

My comfort note

Dear comfort note,

You know what I hate the most? Love triangles. They make two people happy... but always leave one person shattered. And right now, I’m afraid for my friends. I’m talking about Nora and David.

I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it, but sometimes I get this sinking feeling.

What if Nora actually falls for Jake?

What if she starts dating him? David would be crushed.

He’s liked her for years. And I mean really liked her. The kind of quiet, unspoken love that lives in the background, hoping for something more someday.

It’s always been there. Always. I don’t want to see him heartbroken. I don’t want any of us to be. But the truth is... I can’t do anything about it.

I can’t stop people from falling in love or falling out of it.

I can’t control who chooses who.

All I can do is hope. Hope that no one gets hurt. Hope that we all find some kind of happy ending. A life with the person who truly sees us,

loves us,

and chooses to stay.