And still chose to stay.
My phone rang.
I blinked, startled, then picked it up.
“Hey, remember this person?” a smooth voice teased.
I frowned. Familiar, but I couldn’t place it. “No...”
“Doctor Manuel.”
Oh, God.
That ridiculously hot doctor I’d flirted with near the hospital—just days ago, in a moment of chaotic defiance. I never gave him my number. I only took his card.
“How... how did you get my contact?”
There was a slight chuckle. “Ethan gave it to me.”
Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he? I’d ask him about that later.
“Okay...” I said hesitantly.
“Dinner tonight,” Manuel said. “At Cielo Rosso.”
Cielo Rosso? That luxury rooftop restaurant that had a six-month waitlist?
“I think I might be busy,” I replied, instantly overwhelmed.
“Come on, Charlotte. It’ll be fun. Just food and conversation. Nothing heavy. We can get to know each other.”
I hesitated.
His voice was easy, confident, flirtatious in a way that would’ve once made me blush. But now?
Now it made me tired.
“I’ll think about it,” I muttered and quickly ended the call.
As soon as the line dropped, I exhaled deeply, like I’d been holding my breath the entire time.
Why had I even approached him that day? Oh right—to make Cassian jealous. To pretend I could still flirt. That I could still matter to someone else.
But now...?
Now it felt like a trap. What if Manuel thought I was serious? What if he wanted something more? Should I just call and tell him I wasn’t available? That I wasn’t ready?
Because the truth was—I wasn’t.
I wasn’t capable of loving anyone right now. Not him. Not Ethan. Not even Cassian.
I was too broken to belong to anyone but myself.
And even that felt like a lie.
Chapter 16
CHARLOTTE
