The Things I can't undo
1466 Words
The wind had settled.
But my heart hadn’t.
---
I didn’t realize how tightly I was still holding onto him until the bike stopped completely.
My fingers were curled into his shirt like I needed something to anchor me.
Like if I let go too quickly… I might fall back into everything I was trying to escape.
---
“You can breathe now,” Felix said softly.
I blinked.
Slowly loosening my grip.
“Oh.”
I pulled my hands away quickly, a little embarrassed.
“I didn’t realize…”
“I know,” he said.
And the way he said it—
Not teasing.
Not mocking.
Just… understanding—
Made it worse.
---
I stepped off the bike, smoothing my dress like it could somehow fix the fact that I had just forgotten myself completely.
Even if only for a moment.
---
The city stretched out in front of us.
Lights blinking.
Cars moving.
Life happening.
---
And for once—
I didn’t feel like I was trapped outside of it.
---
“This place…” I said quietly.
Felix leaned against the bike beside me.
“Yeah,” he replied. “I come here when I need to think.”
I glanced at him.
“You think a lot?”
He shrugged slightly.
“Enough.”
---
Silence settled between us again.
But this time—
It wasn’t heavy.
---
“You do this often?” I asked. “Pick up strangers and take them on late-night rides?”
He smirked faintly.
“You’re not a stranger.”
I raised a brow.
“Oh?”
“I’ve been watching you.”
That made me turn fully.
“Excuse me?”
---
He lifted his hands slightly.
“Not like that,” he said quickly. “Relax.”
“Then how?”
---
He studied me for a second before answering.
“Like someone trying not to break,” he said.
---
That hit deeper than I expected.
---
“You don’t know anything about me,” I said, my voice quieter now.
“True,” he admitted. “But I know what it looks like when someone is carrying too much alone.”
---
I looked away.
Back at the city.
Because if I looked at him any longer—
I might say something I wasn’t ready to admit.
---
“You’re very observant for someone your age,” I muttered.
He laughed softly.
“And you’re very defensive for someone who clearly needs a break.”
---
That almost made me smile again.
Almost.
---
“You talk too much,” I said.
“And you don’t talk enough,” he replied.
---
Another pause.
---
“Why did you really come tonight?” he asked.
---
The question lingered.
Simple.
But not easy.
---
“I told you,” I said. “I needed air.”
“That’s not all.”
---
I exhaled slowly.
“You always push this much?”
“Only when it matters.”
---
I turned to him.
Studying his face this time.
Really looking.
Young.
Yes.
But not careless.
Not shallow.
There was something steady about him.
Something… grounding.
---
“I’m getting a divorce,” I said finally.
---
He didn’t react immediately.
Didn’t interrupt.
Didn’t judge.
---
“Okay,” he said after a moment.
Just that.
---
I frowned slightly.
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
“What do you want me to say?” he asked.
“I don’t know… something?”
---
He shrugged.
“You made a decision. I respect it.”
---
It was so simple.
So… normal.
That it felt strange.
---
“You don’t even know why,” I said.
“I don’t need to,” he replied. “If you’re walking away, it means staying was worse.”
---
I went quiet again.
Because—
That was exactly it.
---
“It’s not just a divorce,” I added after a moment.
“It’s a war.”
---
That got his attention.
---
“A war?” he repeated.
---
I nodded.
“My husband… his family… they don’t lose.”
---
“And you think you can beat them?” he asked.
Not mocking.
Just… direct.
---
“I don’t think,” I said. “I have to.”
---
He studied me for a few seconds.
Longer this time.
---
“You’re serious,” he said.
---
“I don’t do halfway,” I replied.
---
A faint smile touched his lips.
“I can see that.”
---
I looked away again.
Because something about the way he said that felt…
Too close.
---
“They’ve hurt a lot of people,” I continued. “Not just me.”
My voice tightened slightly.
“There are things… things they’ve buried. Covered. Destroyed.”
---
“And you want to expose all of that?” he asked.
---
“Yes.”
---
“And you think they’ll just let you?”
---
I let out a quiet, humorless laugh.
“No.”
---
“Then why do it?”
---
I turned to him fully this time.
Because this part—
This part mattered.
---
“Because if I don’t,” I said, my voice steady now, “they win again.”
---
Silence.
---
Not empty.
Not awkward.
---
Just… heavy with understanding.
---
“You’re risking a lot,” he said.
---
“I’ve already lost too much,” I replied.
---
Our eyes held for a moment longer than necessary.
---
Then—
My phone buzzed.
---
The sound snapped everything back into place.
Reality.
Responsibility.
Consequences.
---
I glanced at the screen.
Kinks.
---
Of course.
---
I hesitated.
Then answered.
---
“Hello?”
---
“Elena, where are you?” her voice came through, low and serious.
---
“Out,” I said carefully.
“Why?”
---
“We have a problem.”
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My body went still.
---
“What kind of problem?”
---
“A serious one,” she replied. “I’ve gone through the documents Martins sent.”
---
My grip tightened around the phone.
“And?”
---
“And it’s bigger than we thought.”
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My heart picked up.
---
“There’s evidence of financial diversion,” she continued. “Offshore accounts. Illegal transfers. And—”
She paused.
---
“And what?”
---
“Bribery tied to judicial officers,” she said.
---
My breath caught.
---
“They’ve been controlling case outcomes,” she added. “Including the employees who were imprisoned.”
---
I closed my eyes briefly.
---
Of course they were.
---
“This changes everything,” Kinks continued. “But it also makes this more dangerous.”
---
“I already knew it was dangerous,” I said.
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“No,” she replied firmly. “You knew it was bad. This is different.”
---
I straightened slightly.
---
“What do we do?” I asked.
---
There was a brief pause.
---
“First,” she said, “you stay careful. No sudden moves. No exposure.”
---
My eyes drifted to Felix.
Standing quietly.
Watching me.
---
“Second,” she continued, “we don’t go to court yet.”
---
That surprised me.
---
“What?”
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“We build the case first,” she said. “Quietly. Strategically.”
---
I nodded slightly.
Even though she couldn’t see me.
---
“And Elena…”
---
“Yes?”
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“Once we start this,” she said, her tone lowering, “there’s no turning back.”
---
I looked out at the city again.
At the lights.
At everything I was about to risk.
---
“I know,” I said.
---
The call ended.
---
Silence returned.
But not the same silence as before.
---
He noticed.
Of course he did.
---
“That didn’t sound like a small problem,” Felix said.
---
“It’s not,” I replied.
---
I slipped my phone back into my purse.
---
Then looked at him.
---
“I told you,” I said quietly. “This is a war.”
---
He held my gaze.
Unflinching.
---
“Then I guess,” he said, “you shouldn’t be fighting it alone.”
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Something in my chest shifted again.
---
Dangerous.
Unfamiliar.
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“Careful,” I said softly.
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“Why?”
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“Because you don’t know what you’re stepping into.”
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He smiled slightly.
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“Maybe I do,” he said.
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And for the first time since this started—
I wasn’t sure who was walking into whose world.
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And that scared me more than anything else.
- Writer
