"I know this picture is probably a misunderstanding. I know you didn’t cheat."
"Hell no! I’m telling you I did not cheat!" Adam burst out, voice louder than he ant it to be. "Will you just—will you please listen to for once—"
Then he froze.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at her more carefully, as if rewinding her words in his head.
"Wait. Hold on." His voice dropped a notch as he narrowed his eyes and gave her a stare, "Did you just say... you know I didn’t cheat?"
lanie didn’t respond right away.
Adam leaned in a little, blinking as if trying to make sure he hadn’t imagined it. "No, really-just now. That’s what you said, right? You know I didn’t cheat?"
There was a pause, and then-
"Then what the hell have we been doing for the last two days?" he added, his voice now half-bewildered, half-exasperated, arms lifting slightly as if to encompass the silence, the awkward dinners, and the forced politeness. "You knew I didn’t cheat and still gave the silent treatnt?"
lanie crossed her arms and looked away, refusing to confirm or deny anything.
"Unbelievable," Adam muttered under his breath, rubbing a hand across his jaw. "You knew. And you still made suffer? Why?"
She didn’t crack a smile.
He sighed. "Okay. Fine. Can we at least agree that next ti you believe I’m innocent, you say it out loud before I consider kidnapping you and..."
Before he could feel fully relieved, lanie burst into tears that had him panicking unlike ever before. "Why are you crying? It is a good thing that I did not cheat, right? Are you not relieved? lon? Talk to , okay?"
Adam was still fumbling for words, still brushing at the tears on her cheeks when he felt a sharp nudge at the base of his back.
He blinked.
Another jab landed against him again.
"Did you just—" he twisted slightly and looked down behind him.
Her ankle pulled back and gave him another quick kick, right against his backside.
"Ow. Hey!"
lanie sniffed, "Serves you right."
Adam stared at her in disbelief. "Did you just kick ? While crying?"
"You deserved it," she said, wiping her face with the back of her hand, though her ankles stayed locked behind him. "I was angry, and jealous, and you-you were being an idiot."
Adam raised both eyebrows and even though she didn’t say things clearly, he asked, "Okay, fair. You were angry that this entire thing happened and I didn’t tell you. But jealous? You were jealous?"
"Obviously!" she snapped, giving him another nudge with her heel. "You hugged her, Adam. From behind. It’s how you always do to !"
"Its what I ONLY do to you. I thought she was you!" Adam defended himself, quickly explaining the entire sequence of the events, hoping to pacify her. But instead of calming down, she actually looked even angrier as she pointed an accusing finger at him, " And then you defended her. In front of . Like I was overreacting for being upset. You didn’t even hesitate."
Adam opened his mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again. When exactly did he defend her? And then things clicked... just now at the table, when he had said that she was innocent...he sighed and cupped her face, "I didn’t an to defend her. I was just trying to explain-"
"I just...Adam listen to . You don’t know how I felt when I saw that picture. I was shocked as if sothing had been stolen from . Sothing I didn’t even know I had."
"You know how we began," she continued, her voice quieter now, but firm. "How I fell for you... it started with attraction, yes. Because you were always in my space. Always leaning in, always near. It was impossible to ignore."
She gave a half-shrug, then added, "But more than that, it was the way you defended . The way you always had my back. Even when I didn’t ask. Even when I didn’t deserve it."
Adam’s brows pulled slightly together, his expression softening.
"And then I saw that picture," she whispered. "And suddenly it felt like you were doing the sa thing... for soone else. Holding her the way you hold . Standing that close, with that sa look on your face."
Her legs tensed slightly around his waist. She didn’t loosen them.
"I an, if it had been Saira, or even soone else-fine. I’d have rolled my eyes and moved on. But lody..." She looked away for a second before forcing herself to continue. "She looks like .. She talks like . But sohow, she’s more your style than I am. It made wonder-if it had been soone else, soone completely different, I would’ve brushed it off. But it was her. She’s... similar to . And that made feel replaceable."
Adam’s mouth parted, but no sound ca out. He honsetly didn’t know what to say.
But lanie wasn’t done. Her fingers dug slightly into his shirt. "That picture shook . Because suddenly lody was not just any girl with resemblance to . She almost felt like a threat. It made question everything I knew. About you and . And I hated feeling that. Hated how scared I was. I didn’t even want to talk to you because I was scared that if I opened my mouth, I’d admit it out loud."
Adam sighed and leaned in again, kissing her softly. When they broke apart, he didn’t move far. Instead, he let his forehead rest against hers for a second, then slowly lowered his head and buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"I’m sorry. This is my fault."
His arms tightened around her waist as if trying to physically shield her from the weight of everything that had just passed between them.
"You really think I was always in your space, hovering around, because of how you looked? lon, you think that’s what it was?"
lanie didn’t answer right away. She lifted her hand and slowly ran her fingers through the back of his hair. "I know it wasn’t just that. I think... it was also about Spencer."
Adam stilled, then groaned against her neck. "Don’t even say his na. Your jealousy is nothing over what I feel towards him. But...for now...
He pulled back just enough to look at her face, eyes dark with frustration. "You have no idea how much I want to shake you right now."
lanie’s mouth twitched into sothing like a grimace-or a reluctant smile. "Yeah, well. Get in line."
"No seriously. I want to shake you, and then lock you in a room with until you get it through your stubborn head—I chose you."
Her expression flickered.
"I promised to marry you long before Spencer even ca into the picture."
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