Another breath and I continue. “Every single thing that happened between Callum and me was real. Our initial dislike for each other, the tension between us, our attraction, our arguments, our relationship.”

Our kisses, the glances we stole during busy workdays, the desperate way we touched each other every single time we were together in private. The love between us, even though I waited too long to acknowledge it.

I rest my hands on my hips to steady myself. Looking at the ground seems to help. I take a much-needed breath. “We didn’t fake a single thing.”

This time when I breathe, I feel as light as the breeze flowing in through the window. Everything I’ve been holding in, everything I’ve been hiding, every secret that’s been cooking me from the inside out these past few months is out. It’s the most freeing feeling.

I finally let myself look at her phone screen. My eyes bulge when I see that several thousand people are currently viewing this livestream.

And then I decide to go with this newfound open attitude and look straight at the screen. “Any questions?”

It only takes a few seconds for the first question to pop up.

Penelope leans in to read it aloud. “Do you still keep in contact with Callum?”

For a second I contemplate answering with “not really,” since I have technically spoken to Callum since our breakup . . . just not recently. But that answer is sure to garner a wave of speculative follow-up questions that could lead to even more rumors, so I squash it. Instead I just shake my head and say, “No.”

“Do you know where he is? What he’s doing now?” Penelope reads.

“Unfortunately not.”

She hesitates before reading the next question. “Do you think there’s any hope of reconciliation for you two?”

“I . . . I hope so.”

“Do you love Callum?” Penelope practically winces when she reads it. She knows the answer. I told her. But she also knows how heartbreaking it is for me to bring up the word “love” when it comes to Callum because of how badly I messed things up the one time he told me he loved me.

I can feel my answer in every bone, every muscle, every beat of my heart, every inhale, every exhale, every blink. When it’s this deep inside, it’s obvious on the outside too. It’s in my eyes, my body language, the tone in which I speak. I bet every single person watching me now can tell I’m still in love with Callum. Because I am. And I hope when he sees this, he’ll believe me.

“Yes, I do love him.”

“Is one more question okay?” Penelope asks in a gentle whisper.

I nod.

“If you could say anything to Callum right now, what would you say?”