chapter 17

Nadia's pov

I sat on the made up bed in front of the TV, a little bit far from it. My fingers absentmindedly tracing the rim of my wine glass, my heart caught in a whirlwind of emotions. I couldn't quite make sense of. The dim glow of the TV flickered across the room, casting elongated shadows over the furniture.

The muted chatter of Samantha and Neal filling the comfortable silence between scenes. But for me, comfort was the last thing I felt. Across from me, Aidan sat with an easy smile, his arm draped casually over the back of the couch, his presence warm and undeniable. He was happy, and why wouldn't he be? After a week of unspoken tension, stolen glances, and conversations that hinted at something deeper, I had finally given him an answer-one that came in the form of a kiss, soft and tentative but full of meaning.

"Stay," I had whispered to him, my heart pounding in a way it hadn't in a long time. And Aidan had smiled, that boyish, confident grin of his, pulling me close as if I had just given him the world.

But as the opening credits rolled on the screen, a different name echoed in my mind. Douglas. The man I had thought I was sure about, the one I had built something steady with, something real. So why did Aidan's presence shake the very foundation of my certainty? Why did his voice, his touch, make me feel alive in ways I hadn't realized that I was missing?

Aidan leaned in slightly, his breath warm against my neck. "You okay?" he murmured, his voice laced with the concern of a man who knew I was battling an internal storm.

I forced a smile, nodding as I took a sip of wine, hoping it would calm the racing of my thoughts. "Yeah. Just... a lot on my mind."

Samantha, ever the social butterfly, turned from where she sat curled up with her boyfriend, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Oh, come on, Nadia. Don't tell me you're still thinking about work. Tonight is about unwinding."

Unwinding. That had been the plan, hadn't it? A casual movie night, a double date of sorts, orchestrated by Samantha, who had been nothing but delighted when she heard I had finally chosen Aidan.

"You're glowing, by the way," Samantha added with a smirk. "I knew you and Aidan were meant to be."

I forced another smile, but deep down, I wasn't sure if it was happiness or guilt that was making my heart race. Did choosing Aidan mean I had made the right decision, or had I simply allowed the intensity of our connection to cloud my judgment?

Aidan, sensing my hesitation, reached for my hand, his fingers threading through mine in a way that sent a shiver up my spine. "I meant what I said," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not going to let you regret this."

And yet, despite his certainty, the doubt still lingered.

Douglas hadn't called. Hadn't texted. Not since I had kissed Aidan. Did he know? Had he sensed the shift between us? Or was he simply giving me space, waiting for me to come to my senses?

The thought twisted inside me, an ache I couldn't ignore.

"Hey, guys," Samantha interrupted, tossing a handful of popcorn at us. "You're totally missing the best part of the movie."

Aidan chuckled, shaking his head. "You and your rom-coms," he teased, squeezing my hand as if silently reminding me that he was there, that he was mine now.

But as much as I wanted to lean into the moment, to let myself fall completely, Douglas's absence haunted me like a shadow.

What if I chose wrong?

Aidan was everything I should want-attentive, passionate, unpredictable in the best way. He had walked into my life and shaken things up, making me question everything I had thought I knew about love. But Douglas... Douglas was stability, loyalty, comfort. He was the man I had built memories with, the one who knew me in ways Aidan had yet to learn.

Could I really walk away from all of that?

My phone buzzed against the sofa behind us, and my breath caught in my throat. A name flashed across the screen, one I hadn't expected to see tonight.

Douglas.

My heart stopped.

I felt Aidan stiffen slightly beside me, his gaze flickering to the screen before shifting back to me. He didn't say anything, didn't ask. He didn't have to. The tension in the room spoke volumes.

I hesitated for a moment before silencing the call, shoving the phone face-down on the sofa. Not now.

Aidan studied me for a long moment, something unreadable in his expression, but he didn't push. Instead, he brushed his thumb over my knuckles, his voice gentle. "You don't have to explain anything to me, Nadia. I trust you."

The words should have reassured me. Instead, they made the knot in my chest tighten. Because as much as I wanted to believe I had made my choice... I wasn't sure if my heart had.

The movie played on, but I wasn't really watching anymore.

I was trapped between two men-one who made me feel safe and one who made me feel alive.

And I didn't know which feeling was more real.

The movie plays, but neither of us watch. The dim glow from the screen flickers across our faces, shadows dancing over Aidan's sharp jawline, the curve of his lips. We are sitting close-closer than needed to be-but neither of us moves away.

Aidan shifts slightly, his arm resting along my back, fingers barely grazing my tummy. It's casual. Innocent. But I feel the heat of it like a spark catching on dry kindling.

I forces my eyes to stay on the screen. The slow, steady rise and fall of his breath. The warmth radiating from his body. The way his legs brushes against mine, every so often, like he's testing something.