Page 131 of Fame & Rhythm

Because I have never been able to resist him.

But I won’t let it go any further and pull back.

His eyes search mine, hope flickering there, and our breathing turns uneven—too fast, too loud.

Fuck, I hate this.

“Aston…” I whisper.

He smiles faintly. “Yeah, baby?”

“I can’t be with you.” The words come out quietly, but they hit hard.

His expression fractures instantly. “Annie… you felt that, right?” he says, stepping back, frustration creeping in.

“Feeling something doesn’t make it right,” I reply. “I’m not good for you. I’m not someone worth loving, and you shouldn’t have lied about it.”

He turns away, running his hand through his hair again. “You know what? Maybe you’re right—”

His words slam into me like a punch.

My chest pulls painfully.

“I didn’t mean that,” he says quickly, turning back. “I’m just… frustrated. You’re so stuck in your past you can’t see what’s right in front of you.” His voice softens, breaking slightly. “Your future is with me, Lennox.”

“Aston, just stop. Maybe in some ideal world we would work out, but I don’t see that happening. You need to forget about me—”

“Forget about you?” he cuts in, disbelief lacing his voice. “Annie, you’re a part of me. Forgetting you would be like ripping out a piece of my soul—”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” I snap, cutting him off before he can keep going.

He exhales sharply and turns away, dropping back onto the sofa as frustration rolls off him in waves. “I don’t think I’m the dramatic one here, Lennox.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I shoot back, folding my arms tightly across my chest.

“Nothing,” he mutters, dragging a hand over his face. “Just… don’t do this.”

“I already have,” I say quietly. “We’re done, Aston. Ella will stand by your side, and you can forget about me. Forget we were ever friends. Forget our first kiss… forget last night. Just forget me.” The words taste bitter as they leave my mouth. “It’s what’s best.”

“Bullshit.” His head drops into his hands again, his shoulders tense. “This is fucking bullshit, Annie, and you know it,” he says, his voice rough but controlled. He doesn’t yell. He never yells at me, but the anger is there, simmering just beneath the surface.

“It is what it is—”

“It is what it is?” he repeats incredulously, letting out a breath that sounds like it’s being forced from his lungs. “I don’t… I can’t… fuck!” He shakes his head, hands still tangled in his hair.

Seeing him like this hurts more than I expected, but I push it down.

This has to happen.

I’m doing the right thing—for both of us.

“Time will help,” I say, softer now. “I just need space. Maybe… maybe we can be friends again one day. But us… as a couple… it was wrong.”

“It wasn’t wrong,” he says immediately, lifting his head to look at me. “We’re not wrong. I just wish you could see that.” He stands, closing the distance between us again, his voice steadying despite everything. “But if time is what you need, then I’ll give it to you. I’ll wait because that’s what people do when they love someone, Annie. They don’t just walk away when things get hard.” He stops right in front of me, close enough that I can feel the warmth of him again. “I can’t let you go,” he says quietly. “I won’t!”

“You have to,” I whisper. “Because I’m letting you go.”

The words hit him hard—they slam into him. I see it in the way his shoulders drop, in the way his expression crumples as tears spill freely down his face.