Abandoned by All I Took It All Back novel Chapter 278

Listening to their conversation, Janina finally understood they were talking about Wendy and Finch. Her curiosity piqued, she asked, "How far have things gone between you two?"

Seeing her friends' gossipy expressions, Wendy felt a blush creep up her neck. At 27, she had never been in a relationship. In ninth grade, she'd had a crush on a popular boy in her class, but it was a silent, secret admiration she never dared to voice. She was too insecure.

Deeply, painfully insecure.

Her parents had left to work elsewhere when she was in the fourth grade. She had been passed around, living with her aunt, her uncle, and another aunt. She had no one to confide in. In the beginning, she craved her parents' love, even just a simple, "Honey, I miss you."

But it never came. Her father was a man of few words. Her mother doted on her younger brother, her most frequent words to Wendy being instructions to study hard, make them proud, and get a good job to support her brother.

Gradually, she retreated into herself.

Even though her classmates told her she was pretty and boys often left her love letters, the insecurity ingrained in her bones made her feel unworthy of anything good. When she developed a crush on that boy in ninth grade, it was because he was exceptional. And her? Her grades were average, her family situation was unstable, she lacked parental affection, and she was always living in someone else's home.

She buried that feeling deep inside her heart. She was terrified of anyone finding out, convinced that her feelings were a desecration of him, an insult to his perfection.

She bore the pain of her unrequited love alone. It wasn't until college, when she met her three best friends, that she began to find her confidence.

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