Chapter 18: Empty Spaces
1188 Words
Lila sat at her desk, staring at her computer screen. The office buzzed around her phones ringing, colleagues chatting, keyboards clacking but she felt utterly detached, like she was watching the world through a thick pane of glass. Everything seemed to move at half speed, dulled by the emptiness she couldn’t escape.
Since Dante had pulled away from her, everything felt different. The world wasn’t the same. The once vivid colors of her life seemed muted now, like a painting left in the rain. Even the strange occurrences that used to send shivers down her spine the flickering lights, the fleeting shadows, the whispers in the dark had vanished.
She should have been relieved. After all, she had spent so many sleepless nights afraid of what those things meant. But now, in their absence, she realized how much they had connected her to Dante. They had been reminders of his world, of his presence, of something bigger than herself. And now that he was gone, the silence left in their wake was deafening.
The day dragged on painfully slowly. Lila tried to focus on her work, but her mind kept drifting. She glanced toward Dante’s office, the glass walls providing a clear view of him sitting at his desk. He looked the same as always calm, composed, untouchable.
But she knew better. She knew that beneath his cold exterior was a storm of emotions he refused to share.
They hadn’t spoken since the night he’d dropped her off at her apartment after the attack. No apologies. No explanations. No acknowledgment of the connection that had burned between them. It was like he had erased everything that had happened, everything they had shared, with a single stroke.
She hated him for it. But more than that, she hated herself for still caring.
At lunchtime, Lila retreated to the rooftop garden, hoping the fresh air would clear her head. She sat on a bench, staring out at the city skyline. The cool breeze ruffled her hair, but it did little to calm the ache in her chest.
“Why did you do this to me?” she whispered aloud, her voice carried away by the wind.
She didn’t expect an answer. But saying it out loud made the pain feel just a little more manageable, as if giving it words made it less suffocating.
“Why did you make me feel so alive,” she continued, her voice trembling, “only to rip it all away?”
She pressed her hands to her face, fighting back tears. “I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
By the time the workday ended, Lila felt drained, both physically and emotionally. She packed up her things and walked to the elevator, her steps heavy.
As the doors slid open, she found herself face to face with Dante.
Her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, neither of them moved. His dark eyes met hers, and she searched them for any sign of the man who had once held her so tenderly, who had whispered her name like it was the most sacred thing in the world.
But his expression was unreadable, his gaze guarded.
“Going down?” he asked, his tone neutral.
She swallowed hard and nodded, stepping into the elevator. The doors closed behind her, and the air in the small space felt stifling.
The ride down was silent.
Lila’s heart raced, her mind screaming at her to say something, to break the unbearable tension. But her pride held her back. If he wanted to pretend like nothing had happened, then fine. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he had hurt her.
When the elevator reached the ground floor, Dante stepped out first, his long strides carrying him across the lobby. He didn’t look back.
Lila stood frozen, watching him disappear into the night. The ache in her chest deepened, and for thefirst time, she realized how utterly broken she felt without him.
That night, Lila sat alone in her apartment, staring at the blank television screen. The silence was deafening, pressing in on her like a physical weight. She hugged her knees to her chest, trying to ignore the hollow ache that had taken root in her heart.
She used to be so sure of herself. Confident, independent, capable of taking on anything life threw her way. But now? Now she felt like a shadow of herself, drifting through her days without purpose or direction.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had smiled. Really smiled.
Dante had taken that from her. He had shown her a world beyond her imagination, a connection so intense it felt otherworldly. And then he had ripped it all away, leaving her stranded in the cold, gray emptiness of reality.
She stood and began pacing her apartment, her bare feet cool against the hardwood floor.
“Why does it feel like this?” she muttered to herself. “Why can’t I just forget him?”
Her reflection caught her attention as she passed the mirror hanging on the wall. She stopped, staring at the woman looking back at her. Her blonde hair was disheveled, her green eyes dull and red-rimmed from crying.
“This isn’t you,” she said aloud, her voice trembling. “You don’t cry over men. You don’t fall apart just because someone leaves.”
But even as she said the words, she knew they weren’t true. Dante wasn’t just someone. He had been the one to make her feel like she was part of something bigger, something extraordinary.
Now, she wasn’t sure who she was without him.
Lila wandered into her bedroom, collapsing onto the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. She hated this feeling this sense of helplessness, of being untethered and adrift.
The things she used to care about her work, her friends, her future felt distant now, unimportant. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.
She closed her eyes, willing sleep to take her. But it didn’t come. Instead, her mind replayed every moment she had spent with Dante, every smile, every touch, every word.
And with each memory, the ache in her chest grew sharper.
By the time the first rays of dawn filtered through her window, Lila hadn’t slept a wink. She sat on the edge of her bed, her hands trembling slightly as she stared out at the city below.
She had tried to push Dante out of her mind, to forget the way he had made her feel. But the bond between them was stronger than she had realized.
It wasn’t just love. It was something deeper, something primal. She could feel it in her bones, a connection that refused to fade no matter how hard she tried to sever it.
And that terrified her.
Because no matter how much she told herself she was strong, that she didn’t need him, the truth was undeniable.
She did.
She needed Dante Morningstar like she needed air to breathe.
And the thought of never having him again was enough to break her.
- Writer
