Chapter 16
Mars
Nia knew something was up before I even sat down.
The restaurant patio was warm with early afternoon sunlight, the kind that made everything feel relaxed and easy. She had already ordered sparkling water for both of us, sunglasses perched on top of her head as she studied me across the table.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“What.”
I hadn’t even picked up the menu yet.
“What what?”
She leaned forward, elbows on the table.
“You look different.”
I scoffed lightly, reaching for my glass.
“I look the same.”
“No,” she said immediately. “You don’t.”
I took a sip of water just to buy myself a second.
Nia had known me long enough to read my moods before I even opened my mouth. It had been that way since college. She knew when I was pretending to be fine and when something had actually shifted underneath the surface.
"And right now she was looking at me like a detective who had already solved the case.
Her eyes slowly widened.
"Oh my God."
I groaned quietly.
"Don't."
"You slept with him."
I nearly inhaled my water.
"Nia!"
The couple sitting at the next table glanced over before returning to their brunch.
She immediately lowered her voice, but the grin on her face only grew wider.
"You did."
I reached for my mimosa and took a long sip, hoping it would somehow buy me enough time to come up with a believable response.
"It wasn't like that."
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest.
"Oh, please."
"I'm serious."
"Mars."
"What?"
"I have known you practically your whole life."
"So?"
"So I know every version of your face."
"I do not have versions of my face."
She laughed.
"Yes, you do."
I shook my head.
"I absolutely do not."
"You have your work face, your irritated face, your 'I'm pretending I don't care' face, and now..." She pointed her fork at me. "...you have whatever this face is."
"What face?"
"The face of a woman who finally stopped overthinking everything and had the time of her life."
Heat rushed into my cheeks before I could stop it.
"I hate you."
"No, you don't."
"No," I admitted with a reluctant smile. "I really don't."
She sat there studying me for another second before her smile softened.
"You look different."
I frowned.
"Different how?"
"Happier."
I looked down at my plate for a moment.
"I don't know about that."
"I do."
She reached across the table and rested her hand over mine.
"You've spent years carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, Mars. Today is the first time I've looked at you and thought maybe you're finally setting some of it down."
I swallowed around the unexpected lump in my throat.
"It's still scary."
"I know."
"I keep waiting for something to go wrong."
She nodded.
"That's because you've been surviving for so long that peace feels unfamiliar."
I laughed softly.
"So..." she said, picking up her mimosa. "Was he worth all the stress you've been giving yourself?"
I covered my face with both hands.
"Nia."
"What?"
"I am trying very hard to behave."
She burst into laughter.
"Oh, sweetheart."
She leaned forward just enough that only I could hear her.
"Judging by that answer, I don't think behaving was anywhere on the itinerary."
She sat back in her chair, crossing her arms like she was waiting for the real story.
I looked down at the table for a second.
Part of me wanted to keep it to myself.
But the truth was the night had been sitting in my chest since morning, replaying in quiet little moments that made my heart feel lighter than it had in a long time.
And Nia knew me too well.
So I sighed.
“Fine.”
Her entire face lit up.
“Oh my God.”
“It wasn’t planned,” I said quickly.
“Nothing good ever is.”
I shook my head, trying to hide the smile tugging at my lips.
“He came over.”
Nia blinked.
“With food,” I added. “And flowers.”
She slapped the table softly.
“I knew it.”
I rolled my eyes.
“It wasn’t like that at first. We talked.”
“About what.”
“Everything.”
The waiter came by to take our order, and Nia barely glanced at the menu before waving him off with two quick choices.
The second he left, she leaned forward again.
“And then?”
I hesitated.
For a moment I stared down at the edge of my plate.
“We ended up on the balcony,” I said quietly. “And I told him… about Darren Hill."
Nia’s excitement softened instantly.
Her smile faded into something gentler.
“Oh, honey.”
She reached across the table and squeezed my hand.
“You like him.”
I shook my head automatically.
“It’s not—”
“Mars.”
Her voice stopped me.
“That’s not something you tell just anyone.”
I knew that.
Which was exactly why the realization had unsettled me so much afterward.
“I didn’t mean to,” I said quietly. “It just came out.”
Nia studied my face.
“And how did he react?”
I thought about the way Jalen's shoulders had gone rigid while we sat on the patio.
I could still hear the quiet anger in his voice and see the way he had struggled to keep it under control for my sake.
"He was furious," I admitted. "Not at me. At him."
Nia nodded knowingly.
"Of course he was."
"He asked if he could take care of it for me."
Nia studied my face for a moment.
"What did you say?"
"I told him no."
"And?"
"I made him promise not to tell anyone."
She waited.
"He promised."
She smiled softly.
"Just like that?"
I nodded again.
"He didn't argue with me. He didn't try to convince me to change my mind. He asked a couple of questions because he wanted to understand, but once I told him what I needed, he respected it."
I looked down at my salad and absentmindedly pushed a tomato around my plate with my fork.
I thought about the way Jalen's shoulders had gone rigid while we sat on the patio.
I could still hear the quiet anger in his voice and see the way he had struggled to keep it under control for my sake.
"He was furious," I admitted. "Not at me. At him."
Nia nodded knowingly.
"Of course he was."
"He wanted to know who did it the second I told him."
"And?"
"I told him."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"You actually told him?"
I nodded.
"He asked if he could take care of it for me."
Nia studied my face for a moment.
"What did you say?"
"I told him no."
"And?"
"I made him promise not to tell anyone."
She waited.
"He promised."
She smiled softly.
"Just like that?"
I nodded again.
"He didn't argue with me. He didn't try to convince me to change my mind. He asked a couple of questions because he wanted to understand, but once I told him what I needed, he respected it."
I looked down at my salad and absentmindedly pushed a tomato around my plate with my fork.
"I think that surprised me more than anything."
Nia reached for her drink.
"It doesn't surprise me."
I looked up.
"It doesn't?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because that man isn't trying to control you, Mars. He's trying to protect you, and there is a huge difference."
I thought about the way Jalen had looked at me after I told him.
He hadn't looked disgusted. He hadn't looked uncomfortable. He had looked heartbroken.
"He wanted to fix it," I said quietly.
"I know he did."
"But he couldn't."
Nia smiled gently.
"And that probably killed him."
I let out a slow breath.
"I think it did."
She leaned back in her chair before looking at me with that familiar expression that usually meant she was about to say something I wasn't going to like.
"Well."
"What?"
"That man is already halfway in love with you."
I nearly dropped my fork.
"Nia."
"I'm serious."
I laughed nervously and shook my head.
"You are unbelievable."
"No," she said. "I'm observant."
I rolled my eyes.
"You're dramatic."
"I can be both."
She pointed her fork at me.
"Think about everything you've told me over the last few weeks.
He pays attention when you speak. He remembers the little things you like.
He listens instead of waiting for his turn to talk.
He rented out Oliver's because he knew you loved it, and then he planned an entire evening around chocolate because he remembered one conversation. "
I opened my mouth to argue.
She held up a finger.
"I'm not finished."
I laughed despite myself.
"He sat there while you shared the worst night of your life, and his first instinct wasn't to judge you or question you. His first instinct was to protect you, and when you asked him not to do anything, he respected your wishes even though every part of him wanted to fix it."
She tilted her head.
"Do you know how rare that is?"
I stared at her without answering.
"He didn't stay because he felt sorry for you," she continued. "He stayed because he cares about you."
Warmth slowly crept into my cheeks.
"It's complicated."
She smiled.
"The best love stories usually are."
I sighed and looked back down at my plate.
"You are not helping."
A grin spread across her face.
"I think I'm helping more than you realize."
I laughed quietly and finally took another bite of my salad.
As much as I wanted to argue with her, there was one thing I couldn't deny.
For the first time in a very long time, someone knew the darkest part of my story...
...and they hadn't looked at me any differently afterward.
She tilted her head slightly.
“You deserve someone who makes you feel safe again.”
For a moment neither of us spoke.
The afternoon sun glowed across the table between us.
And despite everything I had told myself about keeping distance… about not letting this turn into something real…
The truth sat quietly in my chest.
I had trusted him.
And that meant more than I wanted to admit.
"So...how was it," she said smiling, lighting the mood.
I sighed, giving in a little.
“It was… nice,” I said carefully.
Nia leaned forward immediately.
“Nice?”
I shrugged lightly, trying to sound casual even though my cheeks had warmed.
“He was… attentive.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Attentive how?”
I glanced around the patio for a second before lowering my voice.
“He just paid attention,” I said. “Like he was actually listening to me without words.”
Nia blinked.
“That is already better than ninety percent of men.”
I laughed softly.
“He took his time,” I added. “Didn’t rush anything.”