Page 89 of Resisting You
And with those words, I knew she was lying. If there was ever anyone who didn’t give a shit about the fantasy of being married to an actor, it was Rosa Alvarez.
But I also knew it wasn’t going to stop her from walking out on me. For the first time in my life, I realized the lie my mother had told me all those years ago. Lovewasn’tenough. Not in every case. Certainly, not in this case.
It wasn’t enough to keep my dad from dying.
And it wasn’t enough to keep Rosa from leaving me.
Rosa grabbed her bag, her movements robotic now. She paused at the door, her back to me, and said in a voice barely louder than a breath, "Take care of yourself, Noah."
And then she left.
I stood there, surrounded by silence and shattered pieces of something I hadn't realized I was still building.
Birdie whined softly from the edge of the bed. I picked him up and gently dropped to the floor with him in my arms, clutching him like he was the last real thing I had left.
She didn’t just take her clothes when she walked out.
She took the future I hadn’t realized I’d already started loving.
Chapter 33
Rosa
I sat cross-legged on the edge of Hazel’s Airbnb couch, my laptop resting on my knees as the glowing “Confirm Purchase” button dared me to press it. One click, and I’d be gone. Not forever. Just… gone enough to breathe. Gone enough to heal. Gone enough to stop hurting.
Hazel paced behind me while Reid leaned in the bathroom doorway, arms crossed, watching carefully, like I might snap in half if anyone said the wrong thing.
“It’s not forever,” I said, even though the words tasted like lies. “I just… I need to get away. Before this mess buries him. Before it buries me.”
Hazel stopped pacing. “You don’t have to run, Ro. You two love each other. Anyone can see that.”
I huffed out a bitter laugh. “Yeah, well, apparently not. That’s kind of the problem.”
“So… you don’t love him?” Reid asked carefully from the doorway.
I eyed him for a brief moment before answering. I needed to tread carefully. Hazel might be my best friend, but Reid was Noah’s. Whatever I said could potentially get back to him. AndI couldn’t have that. Not with so much riding on this. Noah needed to believe I didn’t love him otherwise he’d never stop pursuing me. My eyes swung to where Hazel stared at me, awaiting my answer and I gulped. Because as much as I wanted to, I also couldn’tlieto them. To either of them.
“I don’t love himenough,” I said, settling on a half-truth.
Reid’s eyes narrowed the tiniest bit. Only a fraction of an inch. But I still noticed it.
“You don’t love him enough? What does that mean?” Hazel crossed her arms and dropped onto the bed beside me. “You love him. He loves you. That’s what matters. That’sallthat matters.”
I shook my head. It wasn’t surprising that she didn’t understand. Hazel was always the dreamer out of the two of us. Cynical at times, sure, but still somehow managed to always have her head in the clouds. It wasn’t a shock that she couldn’t see how loving Noah right now meant letting him go. The best thing I could do for him was to walk away. Fans had already plastered my face and Noah’s face side by side in collages that were all over social media. Memes were circulating of my face as a demon and Noah as a heartbroken angel. Instagram reels were speculating how long I had been planning this. And Reddit? Well… I couldn’t even look.
And the worst part was… I still wanted to go back to him. Even after everything, even with the internet’s claws already hooked into my skin, I wanted to curl up in Noah’s arms and pretend none of it mattered. I wanted him. The way he held me like I was made of glass and granite at the same time. The way he looked at me like he already knew all the broken pieces and still thought I was worth choosing.
But wanting him wasn’t the same as protecting him.
I was doing this for him. Even if he never knew it.
“That’s not all that matters,” I said quietly. “You know that. And Noah knows it… even if he can’t admit it yet.”
Reid stepped farther into the room, his expression gentle but skeptical. “Are you sure this isn’t just panic talking? Some cold feet or whatever?”
I didn’t answer right away.
Hazel leaned closer. “You think disappearing is going to make things better? Rosa, they’re already talking. You leaving him now just gives them a story to chase.”
