Chapter Five: The Things Left Unsaid
295 Words
By now, Andrew and Ella spoke almost every day.
What had started as occasional conversations had become something neither of them could easily explain. Long phone calls, unexpected coffee dates, shared jokes, and comfortable silences slowly filled the spaces between them.
People were beginning to notice.
Priya mentioned seeing them together one afternoon. Goodness brushed it off at first, but later that night she found herself thinking about Andrew.
She remembered their conversations, their friendship, and all the moments she had never looked at too closely because she had already chosen Felix.
Then she thought about Ella.
Ella had always been there. The person who remembered details. The person who listened. The person who quietly carried more emotional weight than anyone realized.
For the first time, Goodness wondered if she had overlooked something important.
Felix noticed it too.
He saw the growing connection between Andrew and Ella and recognized something familiar in it—something genuine.
Neither he nor Goodness spoke openly about it.
But both of them were thinking about it.
One evening during another gathering at Priya's apartment, Andrew and Goodness found themselves alone in the kitchen.
Their conversation was quiet.
Serious.
The kind that only happens when people finally stop avoiding uncomfortable truths.
Ella passed the doorway and sensed the weight of it immediately.
She kept walking.
She didn't ask questions.
She didn't want answers.
Later that night, lying awake in bed, she admitted something to herself.
She wasn't afraid of losing Andrew.
She was afraid of needing him.
Because for the first time in her life, someone seemed to be choosing her.
And she had no idea what to do with that.
As sleep finally claimed her, one thought refused to leave:
What if the background wasn't where she belonged anymore?
- Writer
