Elaine Monroe never meant to fall in love with him. She never meant for her heart to betray her like this. But as she watches him stand beside another, hand resting on the waist of the woman he’s meant to be with, she wonders if she was always destined to be the outsider.
"You knew," she says, voice barely above a whisper. "You knew how I felt."
His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t deny it. He never does.
"It wouldn’t have changed anything," he finally says.
She laughs bitterly. "I know."
Loving him was always impossible. He belonged to someone else. To his family’s expectations. To a future where Elaine had no place.
"Forget whatever you think you feel," he tells her, voice firm, but there’s something unspoken in his eyes—something that makes it hurt even more. "It will never happen."
And yet, his gaze lingers, just for a second too long.
Then there’s her best friend—the one who stands beside her when the world turns its back. The one who sees her pain without asking.
"You don’t have to do this to yourself," he says, handing her his jacket on a cold night. "You deserve more than waiting for someone who will never be yours."
She wants to believe him. She wants to move forward. But some loves are impossible to forget. Some wounds never truly heal. And some desires, no matter how forbidden, refuse to die.
_____
"loving him best decision i ever made" Elaine
"you are my world"
