Under The Same Umbrella

Things We Break

Chapter 8

Three days. That’s how long Mia had avoided him.

No calls. No replies. Just polite excuses sent hours late.

She told herself it was necessary. She needed space to think to breathe because every time she remembered what he said at her door, her chest tightened like it was caught between two walls.

But space, as it turned out, wasn’t simple. Not when he suddenly showed up where she least expected him.

Thursday evening, Kara dragged her to a local art exhibit downtown. “You’ve been cooped up like a hermit,” her friend said. “You need color in your life. And wine.”

The gallery buzzed with soft jazz and the low hum of conversations. Abstract paintings lined the walls, and tiny spotlights made the colors glow like molten glass. Mia was examining a piece of splattered blues and golds when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“I didn’t know you liked this kind of art.”

Her body froze before she turned. Leo.

Hair brushed back, sleeves rolled, no jacket this time just a black button-down that made him look effortlessly out of place among the artists and critics.

She forced a smile. “Small world.”

“Not really,” he said, his eyes steady on hers. “I asked Kara where you’d be.”

Mia’s breath hitched. “You what?”

Before he could answer, Kara appeared, grinning like she’d orchestrated the entire thing. “Oh, great! You guys found each other. I’m gonna grab us some drinks.” And just like that, she vanished into the crowd, leaving Mia and Leo standing too close under the harsh glow of a spotlight.

“You’re ignoring me,” he said quietly.

“I’ve been busy,” she lied.

His jaw tightened. “You don’t have to make excuses.”

Mia crossed her arms. “And you don’t have to show up everywhere I go.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d just talk to me.” His voice was calm, but there was something in his eyes something fraying at the edges.

Before she could respond, another voice cut through.

“Leo.”

Andrea.

She walked toward them, a glass of wine in hand, her heels clicking softly on the polished floor. Tonight she looked different hair loose, a crimson dress that demanded attention without asking.

“Didn’t expect to see you here,” Andrea said, her gaze sliding to Mia, lingering just long enough to sting.

Leo’s expression didn’t change. “I could say the same.”

Andrea’s smile curved like a blade. “Well.. looks like you’ve moved on.” She turned to Mia with that same polite-but-deadly sweetness. “You must be special.”

Mia held her ground. “Or maybe he just likes good company.”

For a second, Andrea’s mask slipped then she laughed, soft and low. “Touché.” She took a slow sip of wine before looking back at Leo. “We should talk. Later.”

Without waiting for an answer, she disappeared into the crowd.

The silence between Mia and Leo pulsed like static.

“Still gonna tell me it’s nothing?” Mia asked finally, her voice sharper than she intended.

Leo exhaled, raking a hand through his hair. “You want the truth?”

“Please.”

“She was my fiancée.”

Mia’s throat went dry. “Was.”

“Two years ago,” he said. “It ended badly. I . . I haven’t seen her since.”

Her pulse thudded in her ears. “And now?”

“And now she’s just someone who made me realize I don’t want to lose what I have right in front of me.” His gaze locked on hers, unwavering.

“Leo”

“No,” he cut in, stepping closer, his voice low enough that only she could hear. “You’ve been running since that night. And I get it. You’re scared. So am I. But I need you to stop pretending this isn’t real.”

Her breath caught, her back pressing against the cool white wall behind her. People moved around them, laughing, sipping wine, oblivious to the war happening in the narrow space between them.

“Say you don’t feel it,” he murmured, leaning closer, his hands braced on either side of her against the wall. “Say it, and I’ll walk away.”

Mia opened her mouth but no words came. Because she couldn’t. Because everything inside her screamed the opposite.

His eyes searched hers, raw and unguarded. For a moment, the world shrank to the heat of his breath and the hammering of her heart.

Then Kara returned, holding two glasses of wine. “Here you oh.” She stopped dead, eyes flicking between them. “Am I interrupting something?”

Leo straightened slowly, his jaw tight. Mia grabbed one of the glasses like a lifeline.

“No,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt. “Not at all.”

But as Leo walked away toward the balcony, his shoulders rigid, Mia knew something had cracked open and it wasn’t going to close easily.

Mia watched him step out to the balcony, his figure outlined against the city lights, a glass of wine in his hand that he didn’t drink. Something about the way his shoulders slumped like he’d been carrying too much for too long made her chest ache.