12

ELARIAN

I was fiercely attracted to Aeros, in a way I preferred to consider a sexual attraction, but even I knew that it was much more than that. I just wasn't ready to admit it yet. Admitting to caring about a man who only saw me as an object for his own pleasure would have meant I was embarking on another journey that would only hurt me even more.

Corey’s affair with Chloe only proved that I was the only one who had taken our relationship seriously. That's why I was the only one who ended up with a broken heart. I didn’t want to ever repeat that mistake with Aeros.

I never wanted to give him the opportunity to hurt me like Corey did. If he only saw me as an object he acquired to satisfy himself, then I would stick to that and protect myself at all costs, even if it meant I had to wake up every day and remind myself of my position in his life.

“You’re just his pet, nothing more and nothing less.” I would say this to myself every day in front of the mirror just to prevent myself from