I sat in silence for what felt like hours, the sound of my own shallow breathing the only noise in the room. The tears eventually stopped, but the ache in my chest remained, dull and relentless. I stared at the door, half expecting Nicolas to walk back in, to say he’d made a mistake. But deep down, I knew he wouldn’t.
It was over. This time, truly over.
I saw the look in his eyes, he wasn't coming back to me.
The weight of that realization settled over me like a heavy blanket. I stood slowly, my legs unsteady, and made my way to the kitchen. I needed something—anything—to distract me.
Grabbing my phone from the counter, I unlocked it and stared at the screen, unsure of what I was looking for. A call, a message, a sign that this pain would eventually subside. But there was nothing.
I
