Tristan’s POV
The sight of Mia with Lucas was eating at me from the inside. I hated it. Every time I saw them together. Laughing, talking, acting so fucking comfortable. I felt something twist in my chest. It wasn’t jealousy, not really. It was more like a surge of possessiveness, a need to stake my claim.
She didn’t belong to him. She belonged to me. She’s fucking mine.
She always had, even if she didn’t realize it yet. Even if I hadn’t been ready to admit it, even to myself. I hated that she was acting like nothing had ever happened between us, like I wasn’t the one who’d kissed her, who’d made her feel things no one else had.
When I saw them talking together, when I saw the way she smiled at him, something dark and primal stirred inside me. Every laugh they shared, every conversation that seemed so effortless, it made my blood boil. She was mine, and I couldn’t stand seeing her give her attention to anyone else. Not when she should be with me. It wasn’t just that I wanted her. It was that I needed her.
I watched from a distance as Lucas hovered around her, always there, always making her laugh, his easygoing charm constantly drawing her in. The way he looked at her—it made me want to snap. How the fuck could he be so comfortable with her? So easy? I could feel my fists clench at my sides, the tension in my jaw tightening with every passing second.
But what the hell was I supposed to do?
I couldn't just walk up to her and claim her in front of everyone. I couldn’t just take her back, not yet—not after the mess I’d made of things. But I was fucking losing my mind.
Mia was doing the same thing she always did—acting like she was fine, like she wasn’t feeling the tension between us. But I could see the way she looked at me. I could see the way she tried to avoid me, but still watched me when she thought I wasn’t looking. I knew her better than she thought.
And I knew she was still conflicted.
But she wasn’t acting conflicted with Lucas. She was easy with him. Comfortable. Like they were already in their own little world, and it was pissing me off.
She didn’t belong in that world. She belonged in mine.
The more I watched, the more I could feel myself spiraling, the more I knew I had to do something.
Then I found her alone in the stairwell as I was leaving for the day. I had been trying to avoid her for the most part, keeping my distance, but I couldn’t ignore how it felt every time I saw her smile at Lucas. Every time she let him get too close. I couldn’t let it go on any longer. I couldn’t let her act like I didn’t matter, like none of this meant anything.
She was leaning against the wall, her eyes focused on her phone, completely unaware of me approaching. I stepped closer, my steps silent on the stairs. When I was only a few feet away from her, I paused, letting the tension build.
“Mia,” I said, my voice low, purposefully breaking the silence.
She looked up, startled, her eyes widening for just a second before she quickly masked her expression. “Tristan, what are you doing here?” I took another step toward her, closing the space between us. I wasn’t going to let her brush me off like this. I wasn’t going to let her keep pretending like nothing had happened between us.
She stepped back, her back hitting the wall. She was trapped. I could see her trying to remain composed, but there was something in her eyes, something raw, that told me she was just as conflicted as I was.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” I said, my voice cold, but there was something else buried in it, something deeper. I could feel the weight of my own words, the anger, the need for control, and something else that I wasn’t ready to face. “Is that how it’s going to be now? You and Lucas, laughing it up, while I’m just... nothing to you?”
I could see her bite her lip, her expression hardening as she took a deep breath. “I’m not doing anything, Tristan. Also it was you who have been avoiding me.” she said, trying to deflect, but I could hear the edge in her voice, the frustration beneath her calm exterior. “You’re the one who’s been pushing me away. You’re the one who’s been acting like I don’t matter.”
I took a step closer, my hands tightening into fists, my anger rising. “I didn’t push you away,” I growled, my voice thick with the emotions I couldn’t control. “I just... I can’t deal with this. Can’t deal with you, acting like you’re fine when I know you’re not. I can’t deal with you acting like everything is just... normal. Like I’m not the one who—” I cut myself off, realizing I was about to say more than I meant.
But she was pushing me to the edge. She was driving me insane, and I hated it. I hated not knowing where I stood with her. I hated that she was letting herself get too close to Lucas.
“You’re mine, Mia,” I said, before I could stop myself, my voice rough, the words slipping out like a command. “You don’t get to just... throw that away.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I could see the confusion in her gaze. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about you and me,” I spat, my tone harsh. “I don’t know how to want someone without destroying them, Mia. I can’t figure this out. But you’re not going to walk away from me. Not like this.”
I stepped even closer, forcing her to look up at me. My breath was coming faster now, my body trembling with a mixture of frustration and something else I wasn’t ready to acknowledge. But when I looked at her—when I saw the way she stood there, so fucking strong yet so vulnerable at the same time—it made everything feel unbearable.
“I don’t know what you want from me, Tristan,” she whispered, her voice shaking slightly. “I’m so confused. I can’t figure out what the hell is going on with us. You pull me in, you push me away. You’re angry one minute, and then you act like you don’t care.” Her words hit me harder than anything else, but I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t know how to give her the answers she needed.
I couldn’t even give them to myself.
I leaned in closer, my lips brushing against her ear as I spoke in a voice so low it was almost a whisper. “You belong to me, Mia. Your body knows it, even if your mind doesn’t want to accept it. Don’t make me claim you, because I will. You just need to realize that you can’t keep running from this. From me.” Her breath hitched, and for the briefest second, I saw something shift in her eyes. The defiance melted, replaced by something I hadn’t expected—fear.
For the first time, I saw the scared boy behind the dominant man. The man who was terrified of losing control, terrified of letting her get too close, because if he did, he didn’t know how to deal with the aftermath.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper. “But I can’t do this if you don’t give me time to figure out, Mia. I need you to see that I’m not just playing a game. This is real.” She didn’t respond, but I could see the conflict in her eyes, the struggle to understand me, to understand this mess we were caught in. I wasn’t sure if she could hear me, if she even wanted to. But I wasn’t going to stop. I wasn’t going to let her slip away.
“I’m sorry for this,” I added, more quietly this time, the vulnerability in my voice barely noticeable even to myself. “But I don’t know how to want someone without destroying them. And maybe that’s what I’m doing. But I can’t stop. Not with you.”
She stared at me, her breathing slow and steady now, her chest rising and falling beneath the tension that still hung in the air between us. The silence lingered, heavy and suffocating, before she finally spoke, her voice almost too soft to hear.
“I don’t know if I can keep up with this anymore, Tristan.”
And just like that, everything between us felt even more uncertain than before.