Sophia opened a voice message from Alex. She stared at her phone for a moment, her thumb hovering over the play button before finally pressing it. His voice filled the silence of her living room.
"Sophia...hi. I know you've seen my other messages and I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but please, I never meant to hurt you. I love you so much, more than I can put into words... If you’d just give me a chance to explain, I know I can do this right."
The voice cracked, and Sophia could almost feel the weight of his regret through the message. She bit her lip, her hand trembling as she gripped the phone. Every word he said felt like a tug-of-war between her heart and her mind. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.
She turned the phone off, to
