I expected my brother to lecture me, to tell me I was acting recklessly. Instead, after a beat of silence, he let out a heavy sigh.
"I told you to be careful with him when he started seeing you behind my back. If you hadn't been so damn crazy about him, I wouldn't have even bothered acknowledging him." His voice lowered, almost contemplative. "But honestly? This is probably for the best."
He hesitated, then added, "You know, before Mom and Dad even knew about you and Jonah, they already picked out someone for you. Remember that guy who always stared at you like he was hypnotized? Turns out, he's been waiting for you to break up. Just the other day, he was joking about crashing your wedding if he thought Jonah wasn't good enough..."
At his words, an old memory resurfaced—one I had buried long ago.
Back then, my parents had indeed mentioned another suitor, but Jonah and I had already been secretly dating for two years.
I was devoted to Jonah. How could I have even considered marrying a stranger?
I still remembered the way Jonah had reacted when I told him.
He was furious.