bChapter /bb26 /b

bCaleb’s /bP.O.V

“You really do know me the best, she admitted, her voice quieter now, more thoughtful. Which is exactly why I need to tell you bthat /bI’m not your bmate/b.

For a moment, I could only stare at her, the weight of her words settling heavily in my chest. I shook my head, a small, disbelievingugh escaping me. “How can you be so sure?” I asked, my voice steadier than I expected it to be. “I’m not even eighteen yet, Caroline. And you I gestured toward her. bYou’re /btwo months younger than me. There’s no way for either of us to know for sure.”

Caroline sighed, and it was at that moment I realized she had thought about this a lot longer than I had. She wasn’t just saying this on ba /bwhim. This was something she had been sitting with, something she hade to terms with before I even had the chance to consider it. And that made it worseb. /b

“If we were mates, Caleb,” she said gently, ‘we would’ve known already. We would feel it. And I think-” She paused, her fingers fidgeting slightly at the hem of her sleeve. “I think maybe you already know that, too.”

Her words settled over me like a slow, creeping weight, pressing down on the part of me that had held onto the hope that she would be mine–bthat /bfate would choose her the way I already had. But the way she looked at me now, not with love but with something close to pity, made it impossible to argue. bI /bhated that she might be right. I hated that she probably was.

“Caleb.” She didn’t meet my eyes, but her voice was firm when she spoke. “You know just as well as me that bif /bwe truly were mates, we would have been able to tell already. Like you said before, we’ve been together all our blives/b, and it would usually seem like a valid choice that I would end up being your mateb, /bbut

we both know that’s not true.”

“You don’t really believe that,” I said, trying not to let it show that I felt like shit on the inside.

“I do, Caleb.” She smiled sadly. “If it were true, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

I swallowed, my jaw tightening. “And what if you’re wrong?”

She smiled, but it was the kind of smile that didn’t reach her eyes. The kind of smile that said she wished I was right, but she knew better. “Then bI /bguess we’ll find out soon enough,” she murmured. “But I don’t think I am, Caleb. And I think, deep down, neither do you.”

I wanted to fight her on it. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, that she didn’t know everything, that fate didn’t work on a timeline bwe /bcould predictb. /bBut the words wouldn’te, and all I could do was stand there, watching bas /bthe girl I had spent my whole life thinking I would end up with ‘slowly but surely pulled away from me.

I exhaled slowly, steadying my nerves as I turned to face her. The glow from the streemp outside flickered, casting a warm hue over her features.

‘I swallowed hard and forced a chuckle, though it came out shakier than I intended. “I know this might not be true,” bI /bstarted, my voice quieter than usual, more uncertain. “But… I need to ask you something…to do something that might…tell us if we were really…

She turned to me then, her brows knitting together slightly. “What is it?”

I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the edge of the table. “Can I kiss you?”

For a second, she didn’t react. She just stared at me, like she was waiting for the punchline to a joke. But when she realized I wasn’tughing, bher /bblips /bparted slightly, and a sharp breath escaped her.

‘Caleb… Her voice was barely above ba /bwhisper, and I could already hear the rejection forming. “I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

I nodded, like I understood. Maybe I did. But I wasn’t ready to back down just yet. ‘I get that,” I said, my voice steady despite bthe /bbway /bmy heart bpounded/b. “And I promiseb, /bthis isn’t about changing anything between us. I just… I need to check something. Just onceb. /bIf we don’t click, I’ll never bring bit /bbup /bbagain/b. This night–this conversation–will be forgotten. swear.b” /b

She looked at me then, really looked at me, as if she was trying to find some hidden meaning in my wordsb. /bbAs /bif she was trying to figure out if bI /bbwas /bbworth /bthe risk. Silence stretched between us, thick and almost suffocating. I could bsee /bbthe /bwheels turning in her head, the war between logic band /bbcuriosity/b.

And then, finally, she let out a breath. ‘Just onceb, /bshe murmured.

I didn’t know if this was the right thing to do, but as I leaned forward, encouraging bCare /bbto /bbmeet /bme halfwayb, /bbI /bbhad /bthis bnagging /bbfeeling /bbin /bbmy /bbheart /bbthat /bb1 /b

was doing all of this to deny the inevitable.