I Stressed for Months to Be With Them — They Were Never Planning to Be With Me Chapter 03

I Stressed for Months to Be With Them — They Were Never Planning to Be With Me Chapter 03

On the way home from the theater, Asher spoke as casually as if he were discussing something that had nothing to do with me.

“I changed the school on your application portal to a private two-year college near Westmere University. You’ll be studying Household Management.”

“Vanessa and I will both have demanding programs, so you can handle the apartment and all the household chores. That way, the three of us can stay in the same city and look after one another.”

I slowly looked up at him.

“Did you give Vanessa this necklace too?”

“Yeah,” he said without hesitation. “Honestly, if I hadn’t gone with Vanessa to have hers custom-made, I probably would’ve forgotten your birthday altogether.”

Vanessa’s necklace had been custom-made for her, while mine was just something he had picked up as an afterthought.

I tore it from my neck and dropped it into Asher’s hand.

“Take it back.”

He frowned. “What is it now? Claire, why do you get upset over everything lately?”

I met his gaze and spoke slowly.

“Asher, are you in love with Vanessa?”

His face darkened. “Are you crazy? Vanessa is our friend.”

I gave a short, humorless laugh.

“You changed your college plans for her. You remember everything she likes, and the two of you tell each other everything.”

“How is that not love?”

Asher turned the necklace over between his fingers and sighed.

“Here we go again.”

“The three of us grew up together. You’re my girlfriend, and Vanessa is like a sister to me. What’s wrong with treating her well?”

“Claire, I’ve been working this hard because I’m trying to build a future for us. I want to marry you. Isn’t that enough?”

He reached for my hand.

“I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. Can you please stop getting jealous over every little thing?”

Every little thing. To him, every time he chose Vanessa over me was just another little thing.

Before I could respond, his phone rang, cutting through the conversation.

It was a message from our class president.

[Senior class dinner tomorrow night. Everyone is expected to attend.]

“All right, Claire. Go home, get some sleep, and stop overthinking everything.”

“Oh, and I’m helping Vanessa shop for college supplies tomorrow. We’ll meet you at the restaurant.”

I said nothing and went upstairs.

The next evening, I arrived at the restaurant alone and immediately spotted Asher and Vanessa in the private dining room.

Dressed in matching colors, they looked like a couple.

I had once bought matching outfits for Asher and me, but he had complained that they were too obvious and insisted on buying Vanessa one as well.

“That way, all three of us match. We’re practically family.”

Our classmates’ teasing voices filled the room.

“Asher, you and Vanessa are together every day. When are you finally going to make it official?”

“Seriously, Claire, the three of you grew up together. Are those two dating or not?”

I tightened my grip on my glass.

Everyone assumed Asher and Vanessa were a couple, yet whenever I asked him to make our relationship public, he always gave me the same answer.

“Next time. This isn’t the right moment.”

I had already waited through more “next times” than I could count.

I forced a smile and answered quietly.

“I’m not really sure either.”

Once dinner was well underway, someone suggested truth or dare, and the spinning bottle stopped in front of Asher.

“Open your photo gallery and kiss the person in the third picture from the end.”

The class president snatched Asher’s phone and opened the gallery.

“Oh my God. Your entire camera roll is full of Vanessa!”

Asher froze and immediately tried to back out of the dare.

Vanessa leaned in and turned her face at the last second, making it look as though he had kissed her cheek.

The room erupted in laughter, but no one noticed me sitting silently at the table.

Not long afterward, the bottle landed on Vanessa.

“Call whoever’s pinned at the top of your messages and tell them you like them.”

Vanessa pulled out her phone with a smile, and a second later, Asher’s phone began to ring.

“You two are seriously torturing every single person in this room.”

“This is way too perfect. I thought Claire would be the one pinned at the top of Vanessa’s messages.”

Every joke made my chest tighten until I could barely breathe.

At least I only had two more days left in this city.