PROLOGUE
___
WHAT IS LOVE?
THEY SAY?
Love!!! is a bewildering emotion that transcends the boundaries of reason, a force so potent it can shatter the strongest of wills.
For Emily Cooper,
love was more than a fleeting feeling; it was an all-consuming passion that coursed through her very being,
a flame that flickered brightly with every beat of her heart.
It was the whispered promises in the dead of night,
the tender touch that set her soul ablaze,
and the memories that lingered long after the embers had died.
Love was her everything,
her guiding star, her raison d'être.
And for Emily, that love was embodied in one person - Jack Evergreen,
the man who had been her constant
companion,
her confidant,
her best friend
...
her everything.
He was the sunshine that brightened her day,
the calm in every storm,
and the safe haven where she could be
herself.
With Jack,
time stood still,
and the world melted away,
leaving only the two of them,
lost in their own little bubble of happiness.
He was her happiness,
her sadness,
her anger, and her excitement-
her every emotion was intertwined with his.
Jack was more than just a person;
he was an experience.
He was the warmth of a summer breeze on a sweltering day,
the comfort of a gentle rain shower,
and the serenity of a moonless night.
He was the missing piece to her puzzle,
the missing beat in her heart,
and the missing breath in her lungs.
Without him,
she was a canvas without color,
a melody without harmony,
and a word without meaning.
He was her forever,
her always,
and her everything.
And yet,
despite the depth of her emotions,
despite the intensity of her passion,
Emily's love for Jack remained unrequited.
He saw her as nothing more than a friend,
a confidante,
and a sister.
But she knew,
deep down,
that she was meant to be more.
She was meant to be his everything, just as he was hers.
And so, she held on to hope,
hope that one day he would see her in a different light,
hope that one day he would love her the way she loved him.
Until then,
she would remain his shadow,
his constant companion,
and his best friend,
secretly harboring the hope that their friendship would blossom into something more.
__
But fate had other plans for Emily and Jack.
As the days turned into weeks,
and the weeks into months,
their lives began to take different paths.
Jack entered college
His college days were filled with the excitement of newfound freedom,
the thrill of parties, and the promise of a bright future.
He was the star of his campus,
the one everyone wanted to be around.
His charm and good looks had girls swooning over him,
and soon, he found himself dating a beautiful girl named Sophia.
Sophia!!!
She was everything Emily wasn't -
confident, outgoing, and popular.
As Jack and Sophia's relationship blossomed,
Emily felt her heart shatter into a million pieces.
She tried to be happy for him, she really did,
but every time she saw them together,
she felt like she was dying inside.
People around her told her to move on, to focus on her own life and her own happiness.
Her parents,
her friends,
even her sister Mikayla - everyone thought that Emily's obsession with Jack was unhealthy,
that she needed to let go and find someone else.
But Emily couldn't.
She was trapped in her own feelings,
unable to escape the prison of her own heart.
She felt like she was living in a nightmare,
a never-ending cycle of pain and heartache.
And yet, despite the darkness that surrounded her,
Emily's love for Jack never wavered.
She clung to the memories of their time together,
cherishing every moment,
every laugh, and every whispered secret.
She held on to the hope that one day, Jack would return to her,
that one day he would see her in a different light.
But until then, she was left to pick up the shattered pieces of her heart,
trying to make sense of a world that seemed to have moved on without her.