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They’ve been friends since she moved across the street. She became friends with him and one of his sisters, and even considered him her best friend.
Penelope is in love with Colin, her best friend.
She has been for years, long before she even understood what love was supposed to feel like. It wasn’t some grand realization, it was in the small things. The way her heart settled when he laughed, the way she memorized his every expression, the way she let herself believe, just for a moment, that maybe one day he’d look at her the same way.
But he never did.
Not when he fell for other girls. Not when he told her about them. Not when he asked her for advice, oblivious to the way it shattered her each time. She played her role well. The best friend. The constant. The one who never left.
But then, one night, it was just the two of them. Catching up, like always. A little wine, a little laughter. His voice was softer, his gaze warmer. Like it used to be.
"…That’s why I love you, Pen."
Her breath caught.
She had imagined those words a thousand times, and still, she needed to be sure.
"Love me how?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
Colin blinked. He hesitated. And that moment, that single second of silence, was her undoing.
She let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head. "You don’t even know, do you?"
"Pen, I—"
"I think you love me the way you love your childhood. The way you love home, safe and warm, something you think will always be there." Her voice broke, and she hated it, hated the way her heart ached like it always did when it came to him. "But that’s not what I want from you, Colin. Not the kind that Io—" She stopped herself, because saying it out loud would break her.
She took a step back. "One day, you’re going to look at someone the way I’ve always looked at you."
His eyes darkened, something flashing in them, something like fear. "Pen, wait—"
But she left. She turned, left his flat, and for the first time in years, she didn’t look back.
Days passed. Then weeks. She didn’t wait for him this time.
Until one evening, there was a knock at her door.
She wasn’t expecting anyone. She almost didn’t answer.
But when she did, he was standing there, breathless, eyes burning with something she had never seen before.
"I was wrong," he said, with no hesitation this time. "I do know."
She stared at him, heart pounding, afraid to believe.
"I love you," Colin said. "Not the way I love home, not the way I love the past. I love you in a way that terrifies me. In a way, losing you was the biggest mistake of my life. That's why I couldn't…" He swallowed hard. "I was terrified. But if you give me the chance, I will spend the rest of our lives proving that to you."
She should push him away. She should tell him it was too late.
But when he looked at her now, there was no doubt, no hesitation. Just him, standing in her doorway, asking her to believe. And this time, she didn’t pull away when he reached for her.