A Game of Hearts

It turned out that Selena had known me for quite some time.

Back during the first day of the new semester, it had been raining cats and dogs. While waiting at the bus stop, I noticed a girl standing there, completely soaked. As my bus pulled up, I walked over and handed her my umbrella.

That was when Selena first developed feelings for me.

Later, when we crossed paths again, I didn't remember her. So, when we met at the bar, she had drunkenly clung to me like a mad woman and insisted on wanting to sleep with me. She did that because she had been secretly in love with me for all those years.

I understood the feeling of loving someone and not being able to have them—I had been there.

Right now, my heart ached for Selena as I looked at this foolish woman in front of me. Though they were best friends, she had no idea that Jessica and I had been an official couple. To her, it looked like I was just humiliating myself as I clung to her friend.

For five years, all she saw was the ugliest, most helpless side of me.

She had tried to stop caring about me, but one evening after work, she saw me again outside the office. I was standing in the cold, holding a thermos as I waited for Jessica. My cheeks were bright red, and I kept shifting my feet to stay warm, but I still wore a hopeful smile as I waited quietly.

When she saw me standing there, the feelings she wanted to discard came rushing back again.

She said that me treating her best friend that way proved I was a good person. And she had asked Jessica more than once if I was just a friend to her. Jessica had assured her that I was, so Selena believed that one day, I would turn around and see her.

Luckily, I did.

After being honest with each other, things between Selena and I became easier.

The more I got to know her, the more I realized what a great person she was—honest, straightforward, and considerate. Selena never lost her temper with me. She always listened carefully to what I had to say. Whenever we had a disagreement, we would have serious discussions.

Spending time with her made me really happy.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

Selena had become a bigger part of my life. She started asking what I wanted for dinner, and would come by my office after work. After going grocery shopping together, we would prepare a meal, with me washing and chopping the ingredients while she cooked.

One time, she asked me for a spare key to my apartment, and I gave it to her without hesitation. As I handed the key to her, we both froze for a moment.

She looked at me and asked in a hoarse voice, "What if I moved in with you?"