Chapter 150 Chapter 150

Chapter 150 Chapter 150
Taylor's POV

The last week of the school year passed in a strange, quiet countdown.

Everyone around me moving forward into futures already decided while mine still hung suspended between two answers.

Hunter and Asher both asked to see me the same evening, separately, neither aware the other had reached out too.

I was with that for a long while before finally deciding I couldn't keep circling the question any longer.

Whatever I chose, whatever I lost by choosing, avoiding it any further would only hurt all three of us more.

I asked them both to meet me at the old ice rink instead, the same place everything had started over a year ago.



They arrived within minutes of each other, both quiet, both clearly bracing for whatever I was about to say.

The rink sat empty and dim around us, exactly the way it had that very first day, except everything about who I was standing there had changed completely since then.

"I've spent this whole year not knowing how to answer this," I said, my voice steadier than I expected.

"Both of you have loved me in ways I never thought I deserved. Hunter, you were my first hope, the first person who ever made me believe I could be chosen instead of mocked. Asher, you were the one who showed up quietly, every single night, making me feel safe when everything else felt like it was falling apart."

Neither of them spoke, both watching me carefully.

"I've loved you both," I continued.

"Differently, but completely and I know whichever way I choose, I'm going to lose something precious either way."

"Taylor," Hunter said quietly.

"Whatever you choose, I need you to know I'll respect it. I don't want you carrying guilt over this."

"Neither do I," Asher added.

"We've all survived enough pain this year and I don't want to add more to it by making this harder than it already is."

I looked between them both, my heart pounding, and understood finally, standing in the exact spot where Hunter had once thrown a pink puck at my chest and called me stupid for loving him, that I already knew the answer.

I had known it for a while now, if I let myself be honest.

I walked slowly toward Hunter first.

His eyes widened slightly, hope flickering there despite everything, and I reached up and kissed him softly, gently, everything we had survived together poured into one last, quiet moment between us.

It felt different from every kiss before it.

It was not the beginning this time, it was an ending, tender and complete, closing a chapter that had started with rejection and grown into something neither of us would ever forget.

"Thank you," I whispered against his lips, pulling back slowly.

"For everything and for finally being honest, even when it cost you something. For protecting me even when I didn't deserve it yet."

Hunter's eyes glistened, understanding settling over his face even before I said the words.

"This is goodbye," he said quietly. "Not a choice for me."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He nodded slowly, pain evident but no anger behind it, just quiet, aching acceptance. "I always knew, somewhere," he admitted.

"Since the lake, i think I just needed to hear you say it properly."

I turned toward Asher, but he was already walking away, his shoulders tight, clearly having misread the moment from where he stood.

"Asher, wait!" I called out, panic rising fast.

He didn't stop, pushing through the rink doors into the evening outside, and I ran after him without a second thought, my heart pounding harder than it ever had.

"Asher!"

He finally stopped near the parking lot, back still turned, his whole body rigid.

"You don't have to explain," he said, his voice rough. "I understand, It's always been him, hasn't it."

"No," I said, breathless from running. "Asher, look at me."

He turned slowly, pain etched clearly across his face, and I closed the distance between us fast, grabbing the front of his jacket the way he'd once grabbed mine at the kitchen table, and kissed him hard, desperate, certain in a way I hadn't let myself feel in months.

He froze for half a second, shock rippling through him, before finally, completely, kissing me back.

"That was goodbye," I said breathlessly, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes.

"With Hunter and this," I said, pressing my forehead against his, "this is my choice. You, Asher. It's always quietly been you, even when I was too scared to say it clearly."

Something broke open across his face, relief and joy tangled together so completely it nearly undid me.

"You're sure?" he asked, voice shaking slightly.

"I've never been more sure of anything," I said.

He pulled me into him fully then, holding me the way he always had, steady and warm, and I let myself finally rest in the certainty of it, no fear driving the decision anymore, no crisis forcing my hand.

Just choice, freely made, standing in a parking lot outside the rink where this whole impossible year had begun.

Behind us, through the glass doors, I saw Hunter watching quietly with pain still evident but something like peace settling slowly over his expression too, understanding finally landing exactly where it needed to.

Whatever came next, for all three of us, I understood standing there in Asher's arms that I had finally found the ending I never thought I'd get to choose for myself.