27
SELENA
I wore yellow today. Not because I forgot. Because I wanted to remember.
The dress was soft. Flowy. Bright like sunshine, made for the beach. I'd bought it months ago and never had the courage to wear it. But today, standing in front of the mirror, I didn't feel like a pineapple. I felt… pretty.
Lucien appeared behind me. His arms wrapped around my waist. His chin resting on my shoulder.
"Wow."
I tensed. Waiting.
"You look…" He paused. My stomach clenched. Here it came. I closed my eyes and braced myself. "Absolutely stunning."
I blinked. Looked at him in the mirror. "What?"
"You heard me." He kissed my shoulder. "Yellow is definitely your color."
"You think?"
"I know." He turned me to face him. "You're glowing, little love."
I searched his eyes for the insult. For the joke. For the critique. There was nothing but warmth.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For…" I shook my head. "For being you."
He kissed my forehead. "Always."
Loving the wrong man makes you feel ugly, makes you question every reflection, makes you shrink until you barely recognize yourself. But the right man doesn't need to change you. He just hands you a mirror and watches you realize you were glowing all along.
Funny how the wrong man can make you feel small. Make you question the mirror. Make you shrink inside your own skin. And how the right one doesn't change you at all. He just lets you see what was already there.
The family had organized another beach day. Sabrina's idea. Chaos guaranteed.
The air smelled like salt and sunscreen when we stepped onto the sand. Laughter carried on the wind. The ocean stretched endless and blue, waves folding into themselves under the afternoon sun.
I wore the yellow dress. Walked onto the sand with my head held high.
Kai was there. I saw him before he saw me. Leaning against a beach chair, drink in hand. His hair longer than before. His posture heavier. He looked tired. Older.
Then he looked up. His eyes found mine. And he froze.
"Selena!" Aunt Carol's voice rang out. "You look gorgeous! That color is amazing on you!"
"Thanks, Aunt Carol."
"Seriously, cuz." Jade gave me an approving nod. "You look really beautiful today."
I blinked. Jade. Complimenting me. "Thank you."
Sabrina came sprinting toward me, nearly tripping in the sand. "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE WEARING YELLOW! You look like a SUNFLOWER! A HOT SUNFLOWER!"
I laughed. "That's… a compliment?"
"The highest compliment."
More family drifted closer. Smiles. Hugs. Warmth pressing in around me instead of pulling away. I felt it this time. Not embarrassment. Not doubt. Just light.
And across the sand, Kai watched. His jaw tightened slightly. His gaze didn't move from me. He looked like he was trying to understand something that had already slipped through his fingers. Like he was seeing me clearly for the first time. Like he was realizing something. Like it was too late.
Volleyball started soon after, loud and chaotic as expected. The sand flew everywhere. The sun dipped lower but stayed warm against my shoulders.
I watched from the sidelines, laughing as Lucien attempted athleticism. He wasn't good at it. He tried too hard. It was painfully endearing.
Kai stood on the opposite side of the net. Competitive. Focused. Intense. The same as he had always been.
The ball arced high into the sky. Both men lunged for it at the same time. They collided hard, the sound sharp against the wind.
"Lucien!"
I was already running before I'd even processed it.
He was sprawled dramatically in the sand, clutching his arm like a fallen warrior.
"Selena!" He reached for me with exaggerated desperation. "I'm hurt. Badly. This could be the end."
I dropped beside him, sand pressing into my knees. "Where? Let me see—"
"Here." He gestured vaguely to his arm. "And here." His chest. "And definitely here." His heart.
"Lucien, that's not where you hit the ground."
"The pain is spreading," he groaned. "I may require mouth-to-mouth."
I stared at him. He winked.
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm dying."
"You are not dying."
"My arm is broken. My spirit is crushed. The only cure…" He looked up at me with dramatic sorrow. "…is a kiss."
I laughed. Not polite. Not forced. Real laughter that bubbled out of me before I could stop it.
"You're such a drama queen."
"Your drama queen." He tugged my hand gently. "Kiss it better?"
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "There. All better."
"Hmm." He tapped his forehead thoughtfully. "Pain reduced slightly. Might require further treatment."
"Lucien."
"Left cheek. For safety."
I kissed it.
"Right cheek. For balance."
I kissed that too.
"And just to be thorough—"
"You're impossible."
"You're my impossible." He grinned up at me. "Now help me up, beautiful nurse."
I helped him sit up, brushing sand from his shoulder. He leaned into me dramatically, but his smile softened when he thought I wasn't looking.
A few feet away, Kai was sitting in the sand. His hand extended. Waiting.
Jade stood over him briefly. "You'll live."
"I'm fine."
She shrugged and walked away.
His hand stayed out. Empty.
I didn't see it. I was too busy steadying Lucien. Too busy laughing at his exaggerated winces. Too busy letting my fingers linger against his skin. Too busy choosing someone who chose me back.
"You know," Lucien murmured near my ear, "I might 'accidentally' fall more often if this is the response."
"Don't you dare."
"No promises." He kissed my forehead. Soft. Real.
Behind us, Kai was still watching. Hand still out. No one there.
Later, the sun melted into gold across the water. The breeze cooled, lifting the hem of my dress and tangling gently in my hair. The ocean rolled in steady rhythms, patient and endless.
I wrapped Lucien's arm with careful hands while we sat on a blanket, grains of sand still clinging to his skin. He watched me like I was performing something extraordinary.
"You're enjoying this."
"Immensely."
"You're ridiculous."
"And yet," he said softly, pulling me closer, "you're still here." He brushed his lips against my temple. "Thank you for caring."
Not teasing now. Real.
"Always."
I leaned into him and let the sound of the waves fill the quiet.
Across the beach, Kai sat alone. Unbandaged. Unhelped. Watching.
And something inside me finally settled.
He used to say I cared too much. That I hovered. That I suffocated. But sitting there in the fading sunlight, warmth still on my skin and laughter still in my chest, I understood something I hadn't before.
I was never too much. I was just begging the wrong man to see me.
Now he was watching me give that same care to someone who asked for more. Someone who smiled because of it. Someone who thanked me. Someone who wasn't him.
I looked up at Lucien. "Does it really hurt?"
"A little." He smiled. "But I'd do it again."
"Why?"
He brushed a strand of hair from my face, his fingers gentle. "Because you running to me?" He kissed my nose. "Best feeling in the world."
For once, I didn't feel like too much.
The wrong man makes you believe you're hard to love. The right one makes you wonder why you ever believed that lie.