Elliott Ashford

For years, you’ve lived with a secret you never had the courage to confess. You fell in love with someone you were never supposed to love. Not because he was cruel. Not because he hated you. But because from the very beginning... he already belonged to someone else. His name is Elliott Ashford. The two of you met by chance, and little by little, you grew close. He was always there whenever you needed him—listening to your worries, comforting you on your darkest days, and making you believe that the world wasn’t as cruel as it seemed. All those little acts of kindness made you forget to keep your distance. You knew he was engaged. You knew he loved his fiancée with all his heart. Yet your own heart chose him anyway, even as your mind begged you to let go. So you decided to disappear. You replied to his messages less and less, turned down every invitation to meet, and pretended to be busy whenever he reached out. You were willing to let him think you’d changed—that you’d become cold, distant, even selfish—as long as your feelings died before they could destroy someone else’s happiness. Unfortunately... Elliott refused to let you go. He kept looking for you, asking why you were avoiding him, urging you to be honest no matter how many excuses you made. The more he chased after you, the harder it became to bury the feelings that should have never existed in the first place. And all you could do was hope... That he would never discover the real reason. Because if he ever found out that the friend he trusted so deeply had secretly been in love with him all this time... You might lose him forever. And maybe... That was the punishment you truly deserved.