Chapter 1

I'd been chasing after Samuel Jennings for ten years, and honestly, sometimes I wondered if he even knew how to feel anything.

When I told him I had feelings for him, he just grinned and said, "Sure you do. I'm a total heartthrob."

I asked him if he liked any girls.

Samuel just waved his hand and started counting on his fingers.

His mom, his grandmas, his aunts... basically every female relative he had.

Staring into his clear, clueless eyes, I just had to suck it up and bury the ache in my heart, hoping that maybe one day he'd finally figure out how I felt.

That was until my side hustle of ghostwriting love letters made me kinda famous around school.

One day, Samuel came to me, arms stacked with pink paper.

"Can you write a hundred love letters for me? I wanna go after the school belle," he said.

I froze right there, absolutely speechless.

So, he wasn't clueless about falling in love after all.

He just wasn't in love with me.

*****

The day Samuel asked me to write love letters for him, I was completely stunned.

"A hundred love letters," he demanded.

"If I can't take the school belle down, you and your mom are gonna pack your bags and get the hell out of my home," he snapped.

He shoved the pile of pink paper right into my arms.

Then, without missing a beat, he snatched up the scarf and hat I'd just finished crocheting.

"And stitch these two letters on: CL," he said.

Those were the initials of the school belle, Chloe Lane.

After Samuel left, I just sat there in my room, lost in thought for what felt like forever.

In the end, I deleted the message I'd been about to send to Dennis Jennings, Samuel's dad.

I'd actually been planning to ask Dennis if he could take Samuel to the hospital for a brain scan, just to see if something was wrong.

Up until now, I genuinely believed Samuel wasn't normal.

But now it seemed that there was no need for any of that.

Samuel wasn't some emotionally clueless idiot after all.

He just wasn't into me.

For ten years, my mom worked as a housekeeper for the Jennings family, and I lived right there alongside her. I was basically Samuel's shadow, tailing him everywhere he went.

If Samuel skipped class, I always had his back and covered for him.

Whenever he messed up and was about to get punished, I'd beg on his behalf.

I'd walk for miles just to deliver him an umbrella, and I'd stash hot potatoes in my sleeves so they'd still be warm when I handed them over.

My feelings for Samuel were always so obvious—anyone could see them, plain as day.

Even Dennis couldn't miss it.

"Do you really like Samuel that much?" he asked.

I nodded, hard and serious, showing just how much I meant it.

It had always been this way.

The only reason I ever thought this was just a secret crush was all because of Samuel.

I asked him, "If I tried to chase after you, would you agree to date me?"

He shot back with that straight face of his, "Why would you chase after me? Do I walk too fast?"

When I saw him getting close to other girls, I just couldn't hide the sour look on my face.

To my surprise, Samuel just flashed me a smile and tugged me over, like nothing ever happened.

"What's with the pout? Are you jealous I'm this popular?" he teased.

"Relax, you can totally join us. It's not like we're gonna leave you out or anything," he said.

It was like my whole quest for love got wiped out by a landslide.

A gigantic, no-mercy landslide.

"Samuel's such a goofy kid," Dennis chuckled.

"But honestly, I've seen you as family for ages now. One day, you've gotta become our daughter-in-law," he said.

Hearing him say that pumped me up all over again.

His parents were super easygoing, and they were always hoping Samuel and I would make things official already.

But all my subtle hints were going nowhere, so I decided to just come out and say it.

I texted: [Samuel, I like you.]

As soon as the message went through, my heart started pounding like crazy.

I was so nervous that I just kept staring at my screen without daring to open his reply.

But when I finally worked up the nerve to check his message, it felt like I'd just been doused in ice water—cold from head to toe.

Samuel: [I mean, it's totally normal. I'm popular—everyone likes me.]

[Otherwise, how would we end up as such close buddies?]

Honestly, his reply just completely deflated me. I didn't even feel like answering him back.

I just had to talk myself out of it.

I kept telling myself there was still plenty of time.

But now? It honestly felt like that time was slipping away.