The Heart Of It by Mary A. Wasowski

A love triangle is a relationship in which three people are in love with at least one other person in the relationship. Well, there you have it. However, my story is not the typical love triangle because, to be in one, all parties need to know about it.
The object of my affection is…
Beautiful, Kind, Smart, Funny
And…
My best friend but to my brother, she’s his heart.
She has no idea my feelings run deeper than friendship and out of loyalty to my brother, that’s all they can ever be. Family is everything. And above all things must be cherished.
When my brother asked me to watch over his girl while he left for the NHL, I was all too willing to oblige, even if it was at the expense of my own heart. Of course, she was oblivious to the change in me as we returned for our last year of college. While I continued my roles as a good son, brother, best friend, and the reliable one everyone counted on, I battled against my heart and the knowledge of right and wrong. No matter how I felt, I couldn’t betray my brother.

I slowly unraveled and struggled to control my secret feelings while making reckless choices. At the first test of their relationship, trust was questioned, and my loyalty to my brother waned as I could no longer contain how I felt, only leading to tragic circumstances.
When an unexpected health crisis brings my brother home, secrets that have threatened to reach the surface are finally revealed, causing a rift between us as brothers. Now, as the balance of our family hangs on by a thread, I have to do what my heart has always known…walk away since my claim was never to be realized.
The heart of it is…she was never meant to be mine.