Two worlds one heart

Miles Between Hearts

Chapter 3:

My relationship with Caleb had always been long-distance. We met while I was still in high school, and he had already started working by the time I got to university. From the beginning, we had lived in separate towns for years now, separated by distance that felt too wide some days and bearable on others.

We only saw each other during holidays, but even then, something about us always felt steady. Our connection was undeniable. It had been built slowly, through phone calls, messages, late-night promises, and the kind of trust that grows when two people refuse to let distance win.

I always imagined him as my future husband, the father of my children.

Back then, those thoughts had comforted me. They made the distance easier to survive.

As weeks turned into months and months into semesters, our relationship became a rhythm. We learned how to live inside each other’s voices. His calls became my comfort. My replies became his reassurance. We talked about everything—our dreams, our families, our plans, and the life we would one day build together.

But even in the middle of all that love, I could feel something changing inside me.

Jordan’s voice on the other end of the line became more important than ever. It was my lifeline, the thread that tied me to him when everything else around me felt unstable. And yet, while I kept talking to him, I was also carrying a secret I did not know how to place.

One evening, as the sun lowered itself behind the horizon and poured a soft golden glow across my room, I decided I could not keep circling around the truth forever. I had to talk to Caleb properly about where our future

“Caleb,” I began, sitting up on my bed do I can relax . I’ve been thinking a lot about us.”

His voice came back warm and calm, just as I expected. “What’s on your mind, my love?

I took a breath. “I’ve been thinking about soulmates. How do you know two people are meant to be together? What if we’re not?”

There was a brief silence.

Then Caleb answered carefully, “I think soulmates are people who find each other and choose each other. It’s not only about fate. It’s about love, trust, and the decision to stay.”

I listened to him, touched by the steadiness in his words.

But what if there’s someone else out there?. “Someone who might be a better match for me?”

He did not sound angry. He sounded patient, and that made it even harder.

“There are over seven billion people in the world, Julian,” he said with a calm voice. The idea that there is only one perfect person for each of us is beautiful, but life is not that simple, it’s not fairytale .I choose you because I love you. That what matters.”

His answer made tears burn at the back of my eyes.

“I love you too,” I said softly. “And I don’t want to lose what we have. But I need to be honest with you... sometimes I doubt us.”

The line went quiet.

I could almost feel his sadness through the phone.

When he finally spoke, his voice had changed. “Thank you for telling me the truth. I won’t pretend it doesn’t hurt, but I appreciate your honesty.”

Guilt pressed hard against my ribs.

“Caleb, I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I also can’t pretend these feelings aren’t real.”

He was quiet for a moment, then answered with a sigh that sounded tired and resigned. “Take time to understand what you truly want. Don’t rush yourself. But promise me one thing—keep talking to me.”

“I promise,” I said.

And I meant it.

Still, the conversation left me unsettled. Caleb’s open-hearted response made me love him more, which only made my confusion worse. Instead of giving me clarity, it made everything feel more complicated.

After the call ended, I sat in silence for a long time.

The memory of Jordan from the supermarket stayed with me too, his smell, his face, his smile. The way he had looked at me as if he had noticed something in me I had not yet noticed in myself.

I kept thinking of what would have happened if I had stayed and spoken to him longer.

Instead, I had to run away from my feelings.

And now that memory followed me everywhere. It’s haunting me like a ghost, it’s living rent free in my mind.