**PUBLIC SUMMARY** You’ve loved Theo for years—quietly, hopelessly, and completely. But in college, everything changes when he chooses someone else. Astoria is everything you’re not, and watching them together becomes harder than you ever imagined. Then there’s Matteo—Theo’s best friend. Observant, patient, and impossible to ignore. He sees your heartbreak before you can hide it, and slowly, he begins to step into the space you never meant to leave open. As secrets unravel and loyalty begins to crack, Theo is forced to face what he’s lost… just as Matteo decides he’s done waiting. A slow-burn story of longing, jealousy, and the dangerous line between love and possession—where not everyone plays fair, and not everyone lets go.