Noah

By the time lunch rolled around, I was exhausted from pretending everything was normal.

I’d seen Jessa in the hall earlier that morning — smiling, talking with Mariah — and I’d forced myself to keep things casual. Not because I wanted distance, but because I could feel the eyes on us. People whispered now when she walked by. Hell, when we walked by.

It made my chest feel tight.

I wasn’t ashamed of her. Not for a second. But I hated that every move we made felt like ...