Why did you run?” Noah asked, his voice quiet but desperate. “Please, don’t shut me out like this.”
Camille couldn’t meet his gaze. She wanted to, but the weight of everything that had happened between them—between all of them—was too much. “Noah, I… I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
“What can’t you do?” Noah asked, stepping closer. He gently touched her arm, his warmth sending a shiver down her spine. “I don’t want to lose you. You’re the only thing that makes sense in all this chaos.”
Just as Camille opened her mouth to respond, another voice broke through the night.
“She’s not yours to lose, Noah.”
Leo emerged from the shadows, his jaw clenched, his blue eyes dark with frustration. His presence was electric, as it always was, igniting a tension that made the air around them heavy. Camille’s heart lurched—she knew this wasn’t going to end well.
“No, Leo,” Noah said, stepping protectively in front of Camille. “I’m not doing this with you. Not again.”
Leo’s lips curled into a smirk, one that Camille knew too well. “Doing what, Noah? Fighting for the girl who can’t make up her mind? Maybe you haven’t noticed, but Camille’s been running—probably from you.”
“That’s enough, Leo,” Camille said, her voice shaky but firm. “I don’t want this. I don’t want to be in the middle of—”
“—Of us?” Leo cut her off, his tone sharp. “You think you can just leave us in the dust, Camille? After everything?”
“She’s not a prize to be fought over!” Noah snapped, his calm demeanor cracking. He stepped toward Leo, tension building between the two brothers like a live wire. “This isn’t about who wins her, Leo. She’s a person, not a game.”
“Then why do you keep playing like she is?” Leo shot back, his eyes narrowing. “You’re no better than me. At least I’m honest about what I want.”
The heat of the argument swirled around Camille, making her dizzy. Every word, every glance, was pulling her in a thousand directions. She tried to breathe, tried to make sense of the chaos, but before she could even find her footing, another voice joined the fray.
“You both need to back off.”
Camille’s heart dropped as Matthew approached from the other side of the street, his broad figure cutting through the darkness with an intimidating calm. He walked slowly, his cold steel eyes fixated on her, his face unreadable. Unlike Leo’s fiery demeanor or Noah’s warmth, Matthew was a storm—a force she couldn’t predict.
“Matthew, what are you—” Camille began, but he silenced her with a look.
“I’m done watching you two tear each other apart over this,” Matthew said coldly, his gaze flicking to his brothers. “You think this is about Camille? It’s not. You’ve both been at each other’s throats for years. She’s just your latest excuse.”
“That’s not true,” Noah said, but his voice wavered.
“Isn’t it?” Matthew’s tone was calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it. “This isn’t love, Noah. This is rivalry. And you’re letting her get caught in the middle.”
Camille’s head spun as Matthew’s words cut through the tension. Was he right? Had she become nothing more than a pawn in their endless competition?
“Stop pretending like you don’t care, Matthew,” Leo snapped. “You’ve been brooding in the shadows this whole time, watching us. But I know you—deep down, you want her too.”
Matthew’s jaw tightened, his eyes briefly flickering with something unreadable. He didn’t deny it.
“Fine,” he said quietly, stepping back. “But I’m not fighting for her like this. If either of you wants to destroy everything over her, be my guest. I’m done.”
Camille’s heart sank as Matthew turned and walked away, his silhouette disappearing into the night. The weight of his departure left a hollow ache in her chest, and she felt the sting of his words echo long after he was gone.
Leo cursed under his breath, running a hand through his hair. Noah stood frozen, his face pale and drawn, as if the reality of Matthew’s accusations had hit him too hard.
Camille felt like the ground beneath her was crumbling. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. What had she gotten herself into?
Noah turned to her, his eyes full of regret. “Camille, I didn’t want this… I—”
“I can’t,” she whispered, stepping away from him. “I just need some time.”
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked back toward her house, her mind a storm of emotions too tangled to unravel.
Later that night, as Camille lay in bed, her phone buzzed on her nightstand. She reached for it, her heart skipping a beat when she saw the message from Matthew.
“Meet me tomorrow. Same place. Don’t tell anyone.”
Camille’s breath caught. What could he possibly want now?