**Zania's POV**
I didn't want to go to the café that afternoon, but my friends insisted. "Come on, Zania. It'll be fun," they said.
It was only fun until I saw him.Safeer. Sitting at a corner table, laughing a little too loudly with Ariel. Her hand on his shoulder, the kind of touch that made my chest twist painfully.
I froze. Heart pounding.
"No," I whispered to myself. "No, he wouldn't..."But the sight of them—so familiar, so intimate—ignited every fear I had.
I gripped my bag tighter and tried to look away, pretending not to notice, but my ears betrayed me.
"You're amazing," Ariel said, brushing her fingers across his arm lightly. "I've missed this."My stomach dropped. *What is he doing?*
Safeer noticed me then. My eyes met his for a fraction of a second. His face froze—not panic, not shame, just... hesitation.
And that hesitation made my heart sink.I didn't speak. I didn't move. I turned and left, my chest tight, tears threatening to spill.
**Safeer's POV**
I wanted to shout her name, to run after her, to explain, but Ariel was there, smiling, leaning in slightly.
"Safeer, you okay?" she asked, a little teasing, unaware of how tense I was.
"I... yeah," I said, voice strained. "Just... leave me for a second."I stepped outside, heart hammering. She was gone. Zania. Gone before I could reach her.I ran after her, calling her name, but she didn't stop. She didn't look back.
*She doesn't trust me.*And that knowledge hit harder than any betrayal. I had to prove myself, but the weight of my past mistakes hung over me like a shadow I couldn't escape.
**Zania's POV (closing of Chapter 20)**
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think.I loved him. I still did. But every instinct screamed that he was still too close to Ariel. That he could hurt me again.
I wanted to scream, cry, run—anything to escape the storm of emotions inside me.And yet, deep down, a tiny voice whispered:*I can't stop caring about him.*
YOU ARE READING
when i fell for the wrong player
Teen FictionHe was my forever, until he became my heartbreak. Zania Carter, 19, captain of the college volleyball team, has loved Safeer Smith for four years. He's the star basketball player, her first love, her safe place... until one drunken night at a colle...
