The weight of Gabriel’s words hung between us in the air, a burden I couldn’t shake.
"This was never over."
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, that we ended the day he rejected me, that five years made us nothing but ghosts of what we could have been.
But I couldn’t.
Because deep down, at the part of me I tried to ignore, I knew he was right.
And that terrified me.
I made myself take a step back, wanting distance, wanting air. "I told you, Gabriel. I need time."
Something unreadable flickered in his golden eyes. "And I told you—I’ll wait."
I sighed heavily, raking a hand through my hair. “What if I don’t want you to?
Silence.
Then his voice — low, steady, determined. "Then tell me to leave."
I swallowed. "Gabriel—"
"Say the words," he murmured. “You tell me y
