Before love Broke Me

Chapter three

Those perfect eyes.

I wasn’t prepared for that moment to carry me like that, One second I was standing there, frozen still trying to understand how his voice had found me so easily, and the next, slipped so quietly without warning, It was morning already before we both noticed it properly, or maybe I did first, I think, the air felt different and lighter, the sky had softened into that pale London grey that always felt like a promise it hadn’t decided to keep yet. The street lamps were still on, stubborn, like they didn’t want to admit the night was over. Everything around us felt suspended, caught between what had just happened and what was about to begin.

I was blushing, blushing too foolishly, not the cute kind you can pretend isn’t happening, but the kind that settles into your skin and refuses to leave. My cheeks felt warm, my chest tight, my thoughts scattered. I stood there, facing him, knowing I should say something sensible, something adult, something that acknowledged reality, but my mind had locked itself out already, not dramatically, Just long enough for me to stay inside that feeling without having to explain it or rush it or protect myself from it. I wanted time to pause and watch us the way we were watching each other curiously, like neither of us wanted to blink and miss something important.

He looked at me like he wasn’t in a hurry either.

“It’s morning already,” he said, his voice lower now, softer, like he didn’t want to scare the moment away. “I can walk you home… or maybe escort you to the bus.”

I smiled before I could stop myself.

“I drove.”

“Oh,” he laughed lightly, almost embarrassed. “I just assumed.”

“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “My car’s parked just down there.”

We walked together silently, but it wasn’t awkward. It was the kind of silence that spelt out intentionality. My footsteps felt lighter than usual, my body aware of his presence beside me, the quiet confidence in the way he moved.

When we got to my car, I stopped.

This was the part I didn’t like, the part where moments start turning into goodbyes.

He reached for my phone without asking. Our fingers brushed, and the contact sent something sharp and warm through me. I held my breath without realizing it.

“Let me,” he said.

He typed his number in, called his line, waited for it to ring, the sound felt louder than it should have, like proof that something had just crossed from imagination into real life.

He handed the phone back to me, smiling.

Then he leaned in, slightly, brushing his lips against mine, deliberately…

“I’ll see you soon, beautiful.”

My entire body reacted before my mind could catch up. Heat rushed to my face, my chest, my hands. I nodded, unable to form words that felt worthy of the moment, I got into my car and drove off, my heart beating like it had somewhere important to be, I screamed so loudly in the car, trying to figure out what just happened, I hadn’t even made it halfway down the street before I picked up my phone to call my best friend.

Kathrine answered on the third ring.

“He kissed me,” I said, breathless. “Kathrine. He freaking kissed me.”

She laughed sleepily. “Good morning to you too.”

“He took my phone, typed his number, called his line, leaned in and freaking kissed me,” I repeated, gripping the steering wheel with one hand. “He said he’d see me soon.”

There was a pause on the line.

“This is moving fast,” she said carefully.

“I don’t care,” I replied, voice shaking. “I really don’t. This feels like everything. After all the heartbreak, all the waiting… this feels like my prayers answering at once.”

She exhaled slowly. “Just… promise me you won’t disappear inside it.”

I stared at the road ahead, London slowly waking up around me.

“I won’t,” I said. But even then, I wasn’t sure if I was telling the truth.

By the time I parked, my face still hurt from smiling.

I sat there for a while, engine off, replaying everything, the way he looked at me, the sound of his voice, the warmth of that small intentional kiss. It all felt unreal and deeply real at the same time.

I finally stepped out of the car, morning fully claiming the city, I had no idea that this moment, the one I thought I could carry lightly, was already beginning to change the shape of everything that would follow, I didn’t know then that beginnings are often the gentlest liars.They arrive wrapped in warmth, dressed like safety, speaking softly enough to convince you they mean no harm. They don’t warn you about the weight they’ll carry later, or the way they’ll linger long after they’re gone.

That morning, all I knew was that something had shifted inside me, not too loud, Just enough to matter and yes, I wanted to feel it all, the butterflies in my stomach, I didn’t want them dying, I needed more, I was beginning to feel so alive, something I have never felt before.

I held my phone like it was fragile, his name saved there now, proof that the night wasn’t something I had imagined. The city moved around me, busy, indifferent, unaware that a quiet promise had just been made between two people who didn’t yet understand what they were stepping into.

I told myself to stay calm, to be reasonable and also take things slowly but my heart didn’t listen, It leaned forward instead, curious, already rewriting its future with his presence woven into it. I let it, I didn’t stop it, I didn’t know how to because in that moment, love didn’t feel dangerous, it felt pretty safe, and I carried that feeling with me, unaware that one day, I would have to learn the difference.