Chapter 3The Secret We Kept

Diego arrived looking like he'd driven straight through the storm. Cold air clung to him, and flecks of snow still dusted his hair and shoulders.

He took one look at me and asked, as though he'd expected this all along. "You caught a cold?"

Without answering, I simply stepped aside and let him in. I sat on the couch while he headed straight for the kitchen, as familiar with my apartment as if it were his own.

He boiled water, then effortlessly carried me back to the bedroom and tucked me beneath the blankets until only my face was exposed.

He pressed a cooling patch against my forehead. Then he fed me my medicine.

My nose stung as I fought back tears. The tightness in my chest only grew worse.

For some reason, I found myself thinking back to two years earlier, when I'd just started my first job.

Money had been tight, so I'd rented a cheap apartment in an older neighborhood while I got on my feet. The walls were paper-thin.

Every night, strange noises drifted through the building.

I'd always been timid. Most nights, I lay awake listening to every creak and every unfamiliar sound.

One night, after staring at the ceiling until nearly three in the morning, I finally called Diego. He'd been in the middle of launching his startup back then, working around the clock. I hadn't wanted him to do anything. I just wanted someone to talk to.

Instead, Diego drove two hours in the middle of the night to be with me.

The moment he walked through the door, he stared at me and demanded, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

It was because I didn't want to burden him, but I never said it out loud. If I had, he only would've been angrier.

The next day, he spent nearly every dollar he had left helping me rent a better apartment before rushing back to work. Because he'd spent that money on me, he lived on one meal a day for the next month and lost more than twenty pounds.

But we were never like other couples. No one knew we were together.

We didn't text every day or FaceTime unless there was something important.

Diego never reached out first, not once. He loved me. Or maybe he didn't.

After making sure I was settled and had everything I needed, he asked softly, "Feeling any better?"

I turned my face away. I didn't want to talk.

He assumed I was still upset about what had happened earlier that day. With a quiet sigh, he patiently explained, "The blind date really was my mom's idea. I don't have feelings for Ellie, and nothing's ever going to happen between us."

I closed my eyes. "I know."

He stood beside the bed, watching me in silence for a long moment. In the end, he didn't say another word.

But just as he reached the bedroom door, I called after him.

I should've broken up with him then. I knew I should.

But when I opened my mouth, the words refused to come. Maybe people were just more vulnerable when they were sick.

Swallowing every emotion, I asked as casually as I could, hiding the hope I hadn't even realized I still carried, "Then… will we ever have a future together?"

Diego stopped. He looked back at me, something unreadable flickering across his face. Instead of answering, he said quietly, "Don't overthink it. Get some sleep."

I turned onto my side, giving him my back. "You should go. And don't come over anymore."

A moment later, the bedroom door clicked shut. The apartment fell completely silent.

The next morning, I was surprised to receive a message from Kaleb. After all, yesterday's date hadn't exactly gone well.

[I'm sorry about yesterday. Something came up at work that I really had to deal with. Let me make it up to you. I'd love to take you out for dinner another day.]

He'd handled the situation with more grace than I'd expected. After everything I'd told him yesterday, I couldn't blame anyone for walking away.

I replied politely: [I should apologize instead. I should've been honest about my situation from the beginning. Dinner's on me next time.]

Kaleb replied a few moments later, and we chatted for a while.