Page 111 of Just Say Yes

Trent

MJ, I’m sorry. I messed up, okay? I’ve been thinking about us a lot. I’m not the same guy anymore. You deserve better, and I want to be that for you. Can we just talk?

The words landed like a punch, harsh and deliberate.

I knew what Trent was doing—this wasn’t an apology. It was bait, a carefully crafted mix of guilt and hope, designed to make me second-guess everything I’d worked to leave behind.

And the worst part?

It almost worked.

Not because I wanted him back—hell, no. But because his words poked at every raw nerve I hadn’t quite managed to numb.

I sank deeper into the bed, my grip tightening around the phone as I read the text again, my chest tightening with a familiar ache.

Trent had always known how to get under my skin. When we were together, his apologies were always just enough to make me believe him—enough to make me doubt myself when things went wrong.

He’d flash that easy smile, the one that made me forget how cold his words had been the night before. He’d say the right things, just enough to patch the cracks, but never enough to fix them.

And I’d let him. Over and over again until he had gotten what he wanted from me and left for good.

Because I thought that was love.

I swallowed hard, the bitter taste of those memories rising in my throat.

This wasn’t love. Not even close.

I shoved the phone onto the nightstand, the screen dimming as I turned away. But the words lingered, curling into the corners of my mind, feeding the insecurities I hated most.

You deserve better, and I want to be that for you.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help. Trent’s voice in my head mixed with my own doubts—nagging, insidious whispers that sounded too much like truth.

What if you’re not good enough forbetter? I had spent my entire life being good, and it wasn’t enough for my own father to love me.

What if Logan figures that out too?

His face flashed in my mind, the way he’d looked at me tonight—like I was more than the sum of my mistakes and fears. Like he could lovemefor exactly who I was.

It should’ve been comforting. Instead, it made the prickle of anxiety worse.

Guys like Logan didn’t stick around towns like this. They didn’t settle for girls like me.

He was an Olympic athlete, for fuck’s sake. A star. Someone with a world far bigger than mine.

And me?

I was just MJ. Small-town MJ with a family full of baggage and a track record for playing it safe.

My phone buzzed again, and my heart twisted, half expecting another message from Trent before I had the chance to block his number.

But, thankfully, it wasn’t.

This time, it was Logan and I let a grin take over my face.

Logan

Made it home. Can’t stop thinking about you. Sleep well, Julep.

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