Chapter Fourteen: Catching Feelings by Rosaline Saul
Her lips still tingled from Christopher’s kiss, the memory of his touch vivid and electric. She had not expected it, had not planned for it, but the moment had felt so undeniably right. Too right. It scared her.
What was she doing? A kiss like that was not something
casual, not for her. She had come to Ibiza to escape, to heal, not to fall into
someone else’s arms so soon after running from Jason. The thought of Jason sent
a cold shiver down her spine, his words echoing in her mind.
You’ll never find someone who loves you like I do.
She scoffed under her breath, her fingers digging into the
sand. Jason had loved her, sure, but it was a love that suffocated, a love that
took more than it gave. Yet, here she was, on the verge of questioning
everything because of him. Was she really ready to open herself up again? Or
was she just trying to fill the void Jason had left behind?
The possibility unsettled her. She did not want to admit it,
but Jason’s manipulation still lingered in the corners of her mind, twisting
her confidence into something fragile. What if he was right? What if
Christopher was just a distraction, a fleeting comfort to mend the pieces of
her broken heart? The thought hurt more than it should have. Christopher was
not like Jason; she knew that instinctively but how could she trust herself to
tell the difference? She once thought Jason was perfect too.
She sighed, resting her chin on her knees as the waves
continued their steady advance and retreat. Despite the guilt and doubt gnawing
at her, a warmth bloomed in her chest whenever she thought of Christopher. The
way he looked at her, as if she was the only person in the world. The way his
touch had felt like an unmistakable unspoken promise. With him, it was not just
attraction. There was something deeper, just under the surface. A promise of
true love.
“Maybe that’s the problem,” she muttered to herself. She had
been so consumed by fear of getting hurt again that she had not considered the
possibility of finding someone who could help her heal. Was it so wrong to
think that Christopher could be that person? That maybe, just maybe, she
deserved to feel loved.
The guilt was stubborn, a shadow that refused to let go.
She should not have kissed him, not when her heart was still
so bruised. It was not fair to him, to let him into her chaos when she did not
even know if she could ever be whole again. However, from the moment she met
him, Christopher had begun chipping away at the walls she had so carefully
built around herself. She wondered if he knew that he was. That his presence
felt like sunlight breaking through the cracks.
She buried her face in her hands, torn between what she felt
and what she feared. It had been so long since she allowed herself to believe
in something, to believe in someone. Was it foolish to think she could start
over? That Christopher could be more than just a fleeting moment?
Her heart ached with the weight of the decision, but as she
sat there, listening to the ocean’s steady serenade, clarity began to take
shape. Maybe this was not about Jason or the emptiness he had left behind.
Maybe this was about her, about finding the courage to let herself feel again.
Christopher was not Jason. He was not trying to control her or diminish her. He
simply saw her and, maybe, that was all she needed.
Her fingers sifted through the sand, a small, determined
smile tugging at her lips. She could not deny the pull she felt toward him, nor
could she ignore the way her heart seemed to beat differently when he was near.
Maybe it was too soon. Maybe it was not. For the first time in a long while,
she felt the faintest flicker of excitement, a whisper of what could be. “He
might be exactly what I need,” she murmured to herself, the words barely
audible over the sound of the waves.
As the night deepened, Isabel made a quiet decision. She
would not let fear or guilt hold her back. If there was even a chance that
Christopher could be part of her healing, part of her happiness, she owed it to
herself to find out.
Rising from the sand, she dusted off her hands and looked
out at the endless ocean. The tide had begun to rise, erasing her footprints
from the shore. A clean slate, she thought, a chance to start again.
Isabel turned and made her way back toward the lights of the
town, her heart lighter than it had been in months.
