Saoirse’s POV

  Dating Liam O’Connor felt like stepping into a dream. He was charming, confident, and always knew how to make me laugh. We had been friends first, teammates on the track team, and somewhere along the way, his playful teasing turned into something more.

  "I bet I can beat you in the next race," he had grinned one evening after practice, stretching beside me.

  "Oh, please," I scoffed. "You barely kept up last time."

  "If I win, you owe me dinner," he bargained.

  "And if I win?"

  "I’ll take you out anyway," he had winked, making me roll my eyes.

  That was Liam—relentless, flirty, and impossible to ignore. And, somehow, he had managed to charm me completely.

  Our first date was at a cozy café in town, the kind with fairy lights strung along the windows and the smell of fresh coffee in the air. We talked for hours—about school, our future, our families. He made everything feel effortless.

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  "You’re blushing," he had teased at one point, reaching across the table to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

  "Am not," I had huffed, though my burning cheeks betrayed me.

  Being with him felt easy. He sent me good morning texts, walked me to my classes, and always had some ridiculous joke to make me laugh. And when he kissed me for the first time after one of my races—his hands firm on my waist, his lips warm and sure—I had melted into him without a second thought.

  Everything about Liam felt like a fairytale.

  Cian’s POV

  Dating Aoife Gallagher was… intense. She was gorgeous, sophisticated, and knew exactly what she wanted. And for some reason, she had decided that what she wanted was me.

  "You’re too laid-back, Byrne," she had told me on our second date, sipping her fancy iced coffee.

  "And you’re too uptight," I had countered, smirking.

  She had rolled her eyes but still reached for my hand. "Opposites attract."

  Our relationship was all about grand gestures—dinner at the nicest restaurants, expensive gifts, and showing up to school events looking like the perfect couple. She loved attention, and she loved being seen with me.

  But there were quiet moments too. Like when we would sneak away from a party just to sit in my car, talking about our dreams. Or when she would run her fingers through my hair while I lay with my head in her lap, exhausted after a long game.

  "You're going to be a big deal one day," she had murmured once, tracing a finger over my jaw.

  "And you’re going to run your family’s business better than anyone ever has," I had replied, meaning every word.

  For a while, it felt like we had it all—youth, love, and the whole world ahead of us.

  Neither of us knew how quickly it could all change.