Chapter 5: Candlelit Confessions

At the end of the day, I sang happy birthday to Luke. My voice was soft, the apartment dim, candles flickering.

He blew out all eighteen candles, then awkwardly picked up the crushed gift box and smoothed out the paper. He asked me to help put on the necklace, his fingers shaking too much for the clasp.

He closed his eyes and made a wish. For the first time in eighteen years.

I grinned. "What did you wish for?"

Luke glared. "Not telling. It won’t come true if I do."

That night, we just held each other. No sex, just quiet. He clung to me in the dark like I was his last anchor.

Long after midnight, his voice was barely a whisper. "Chloe Matthews. I wished that every year on this day, you’d stay by my side."

All the while, my phone was hidden against my stomach, brightness turned down, typing a message.

【Got it, I’ll spend the whole day at your house tomorrow.】

【Satisfied now, Young Master Grant?】

Grant Cooper—the devoted second lead. Madison’s loyal dog. Until he wasn’t.