Chapter 25 Chapter Twenty-five
Felicity sat in the cafeteria staring at the plate of rice in front of her. She had tried eating earlier, but every spoonful felt heavy, pointless. Her chest felt tight, her head felt full, and the rest of the world moved like a blur around her.
Students rushed past her table carrying trays. Someone laughed too loudly at the corner. A girl dropped her bottle and groaned dramatically. The air buzzed with Monday chatter, but inside Felicity, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
She kept replaying last night in her head — the silence from Leon, the uncertainty, the way her heart felt like it had been wrung out. She hated that she had let herself believe him. She hated that Victoria and Gwen had to watch her cry.
She pushed her rice again, staring at the grains like they were to blame for her mood.
“Felicity?”
Her eyes lifted slowly.
Deji stood there, holding a tray and looking like he wasn’t sure she wanted to see him. His brows were drawn together in concern, but there was something cautious in his expression too — like he was stepping onto fragile ground.
“Can I sit?” he asked.
She nodded, though a part of her wished the world would stop bothering her for one hour.
He eased into the seat across from her, resting his tray aside. “You look… off.”
She gave a small, humorless laugh. “That obvious?”
“Kinda,” he admitted. “Is it… Leon?”
The sigh that escaped her chest wasn’t planned. It just happened.
“Deji,” she said quietly, “you knew.”
“Knew what?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“That Leon and Charity were back together.” Her voice wavered, but she steadied it. “And you didn’t tell me.”
Shock flashed across his face. “Wait — what? They’re back together?”
She frowned. “You mean you didn’t know?”
“No!” he said, sitting up straight. “How would I know that?”
“You’re his friend.”
“And I’m Charity’s friend too,” he countered. “If those two had sorted their madness out again, trust me, someone would’ve mentioned it, but nobody did.”
Felicity blinked, processing that.
Deji continued, his tone softening. “Look, Felicity… the only reason I didn’t say anything about them earlier is because I don’t get involved in that triangle.
Not anymore. They’ve been doing this push-and-pull for almost three years. Three.”
Her eyes widened. Three years?
He nodded at her expression.
“Three years of drama,” he said with a tired chuckle. “Fight today, breakup tomorrow, back together next week. I stopped keeping up.”
Felicity sat back in her seat, her chest hollowing. She suddenly understood why she always felt like she was competing with a ghost. That ghost had history.
Deji leaned forward slightly. “If I knew you were in the middle of it… I would’ve at least told you to be careful.”
She rubbed her hands together beneath the table. “I feel stupid.”
“Don’t,” he said immediately. “You’re not the first person to get tangled up in someone else’s mess.”
She didn’t respond.
Deji sighed. “Felicity… maybe instead of worrying about Leon, you should worry about you. You forget who you are. You’re smart, kind, stubborn in a cute way… You’re not a filler episode in anyone’s love story.”
She blinked, thrown off by the sincerity.
He shrugged. “I’m just saying what’s true.”
She gave him a look. “You weren’t exactly reliable either.”
He winced. “I was afraid you’d bring that up.”
“You used to ghost me all the time,” she reminded him. “One week you were all chatty, acting like you wanted to know me. Next week—poof. Gone.”
He covered his face with a hand. “Okay, okay. That’s fair.”
“Then you’d come back and start acting normal like nothing happened. It was confusing.”
He slowly lowered his hand, meeting her eyes. “I know. I messed that up.”
She raised a brow. “Why, though?”
“Because I liked you,” he said plainly. “That’s why.”
Her breath caught.
“And because,” he continued, “when I found out you were talking to Leon, I had to step back. He’s my friend. I don’t fight my friends over girls. So I told myself to chill. And I did.” He shrugged again, this time a little sadly. “But I still cared about you. I still do.”
Felicity wasn’t sure what to say.
Deji gave a small, reflective smile — the kind people wear when admitting painful truths they’ve already made peace with.
“But friendship was probably all we were ever going to be,” he added. “And that’s okay.”
There was no resentment in his voice. Just acceptance.
For the first time that morning, Felicity felt a bit lighter.
Not healed, not fine — but not drowning either.
“Thanks, Deji,” she murmured.
He nudged her plate. “Now eat. You’re stressing me out.”
She rolled her eyes but obeyed, taking a small spoonful. He smiled, proud of his achievement like he’d won a battle.
He talked lightly after that — funny stories about lecturers, comments about students who walked like they owned the school, anything to distract her. And it worked. Little by little, she found herself breathing normally again.
Across campus, Charity stepped out of her ride with the air of someone carrying the world’s sweetest secret.
Her hair was styled, her makeup flawless, her steps almost floating. Anyone who looked at her for more than two seconds could tell she was glowing — but no one knew why. And she planned to keep it that way.
Not until she had chosen the biggest, brightest engagement ring the online catalog had to offer.
Not until her parents confirmed the details of the meeting.
Not until she crafted the perfect moment to drop the news on everyone at once — the kind of announcement that left mouths hanging open.
Her walk down the hallway was practically a runway strut. She replayed Mr. Wyatt’s words in her head, savoring them.
Engagement.
Contract.
Families meeting.
Everything in place.
She smiled to herself.
Soon, the whole school would know.
But not yet.