Brandon's POV
I wanted to confront Chloe.
Every bone in my body wanted to. Every nerve screamed at me to turn around, walk straight up to her, and ask the question that had been clawing at my chest since the moment I saw that message. Just ask her. Get it over with. End this chaos in my head once and for all.
I told myself I would believe whatever she said. For my sanity. I needed to believe that. Truth or lie, I didn't care. I just needed calm. Something steady. Something solid enough to stop my thoughts from spiralling into places I didn't want to go.
But the louder part of me — the quieter, more dangerous one — refused.
Not yet.
And that scared me.
Was it fear? Fear of what exactly? The truth?
The possibility that once I knew it, nothing would ever sit the same again? I couldn't deny it — the unknown terrified me, but knowing might destroy something I wasn't ready to lose. What if the bliss of not knowing felt better than the satisfaction of certainty?
