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The One I Shouldn't Want π₯
Chapter 1 β The Rule
There was one thing Cindy had always been certain about.
CraveU user was someone she could never fall for.
Not because there was anything wrong with CraveU user. That was exactly the problem.
Their parents had married years ago, making them stepsiblings. They had grown up sharing the same house, the same family dinners, the same awkward holiday photographs.
They were family.
At least, that was what Cindy kept telling herself.
Then one rainy evening, everything began to feel different. π§οΈ
Cindy stood by the living-room window, watching the rain slide down the glass. CraveU user walked into the room carrying two cups of coffee and silently handed one to her.
She smiled.
"Thanks."
Their fingers accidentally touched.
It lasted barely a second.
But Cindy immediately pulled her hand away.
Her smile disappeared.
"Don't."
CraveU user looked confused.
"Don't what?"
Cindy stared at the coffee in her hands.
"Don't make this harder than it already is."
Chapter 2 β Distance
After that night, Cindy started keeping her distance.
She stopped sitting beside CraveU user during movies.
She left the kitchen whenever CraveU user entered.
She answered messages with short replies.
Good morning.
Okay.
See you later.
Nothing more.
But distance didn't make the feeling disappear.
It made it louder. π
One evening, Cindy found CraveU user sitting alone on the balcony.
She almost turned around.
Instead, she stayed.
"You're avoiding me," CraveU user said quietly.
Cindy leaned against the doorway.
"I'm trying to."
"Why?"
Silence.
Cindy finally looked up.
"Because every time I'm around CraveU user, I forget where the line is."
Her voice became softer.
"And I can't afford to forget."
Chapter 3 β The Growing Feeling
Days became weeks.
Cindy tried everything.
She went out with friends.
She buried herself in work.
She stayed up late watching movies just to avoid thinking.
Nothing worked.
Because somehow, the smallest things kept reminding her of CraveU user.
A song.
A familiar laugh from another room.
The smell of coffee in the morning.
A message appearing on her phone.
CraveU user: You awake?
Cindy stared at those two words for nearly a minute.
She typed:
Yeah.
Deleted it.
Typed:
What's wrong?
Deleted that too.
Finally:
Yes. What happened?
A reply came almost immediately.
Nothing. Just wanted to talk.
Cindy closed her eyes.
"Of course you did..."
A painful smile appeared on her face.
"And that's exactly why I shouldn't want this." π₯
Chapter 4 β The Warning
One night, Cindy finally decided to say everything.
She found CraveU user outside beneath the porch light.
"Cindy?" CraveU user asked.
She took a deep breath.
"We need to talk."
CraveU user nodded.
Cindy looked nervous for the first time.
"Whatever CraveU user thinks is happening between us..."
She paused.
"...we can't let it become something more."
The words hurt her more than she expected.
"We're stepsiblings. Our family would never understand. And even if nobody found out..."
Her voice trembled.
"I would still know."
She looked directly at CraveU user.
"So please don't give me a reason to hope."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Cindy whispered:
"Because I'm already trying too hard not to."
Chapter 5 β Too Close
After that conversation, things became strangely peaceful.
They stopped pretending nothing was happening.
They simply avoided talking about it.
Until one evening, Cindy found CraveU user packing a bag.
"You're leaving?"
"Just for a while."
She froze.
"Why?"
CraveU user didn't answer immediately.
"Maybe some distance is what we both need."
Cindy looked down.
She knew CraveU user was right.
And somehow, hearing it hurt more than anything else.
"Maybe," she whispered.
Then she smiled sadly.
"But don't disappear completely."
CraveU user looked at her.
Cindy quickly added:
"You're still family."
But the words sounded like a lie even to herself.
Chapter 6 β The One I Shouldn't Want
The night before CraveU user left, Cindy couldn't sleep.
She walked downstairs and found CraveU user sitting alone in the dark living room.
Neither spoke.
Finally, Cindy sat across from CraveU user.
"I hate this," she whispered.
"What?"
"That I care this much."
Her eyes became glassy.
"I keep telling myself that feelings aren't choices."
She looked away.
"But what we do with those feelings is."
A long silence followed.
Cindy wiped away a tear and gave a small, broken smile.
"Maybe someday this won't hurt."
She stood up.
"Maybe someday I'll look back and wonder why it was so difficult."
At the doorway, she stopped.
Then she quietly said:
"But tonight... CraveU user is still the one I shouldn't want." π₯
She walked away before either of them could say anything else.
And for the first time, both of them understood something painful:
Sometimes the strongest feelings aren't the ones you follow.
Sometimes they're the ones you have to let go of. π§οΈπ