ARIA
I stood up from the chair slowly, my legs feeling heavier than they should, as though the weight in my chest had settled into my bones. For a moment, I simply stood there, staring at nothing, my mind loud and quiet at the same time. Then I picked up my bag and began to walk, my steps unsteady, my thoughts tangled and painful.
I felt defeated in a way I had never felt before. Not because I had lost something yet, but because I could already feel the pain of what was coming. I loved Luca. The words echoed in my head, soft and cruel all at once. I loved him, and yet I had just been told to walk away from him as if love were something that could be folded neatly and stored away.
Our relationship had barely begun. It was still new, still warm, still full of excitement and promise, and y
