Chapter: The End I Never Saw Coming
1018 Words
Morning sunlight streamed through the thin hospital curtains, too bright for the grief that lingered in the room. Cleo lay propped up in bed, her body weak, her heart weaker. Crine sat silently at her bedside, holding her hand—neither of them had spoken much since dawn. There were no more tears left, only the quiet aftermath.
Then, a knock.
The door creaked open.
Kielo.
Cleo’s breath hitched at the sight of him, standing at the threshold with a duffel bag slung across his shoulder, and guilt written all over his face. His eyes were bloodshot, his stance unsure. Not the man she had loved. Not anymore.
Crine stood immediately. “You’ve got some nerve—”
“I’m not here to fight,” Kielo said, voice low, tired. “I came to see her. Just for a minute.”
Crine glanced at Cleo, who gave a tiny nod, her lips trembling.
“I’ll give you two a moment,” Crine muttered, walking out, but not before throwing him one last glare.
Kielo stepped inside.
Silence pressed between them, thicker than anything words could fix.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice cracking.
Cleo swallowed hard. “You left me. I called you—crying—and you hung up on me, Kielo.”
“I thought... I thought you were just being dramatic again.” His jaw clenched. “I didn’t know it was serious.”
“I was bleeding,” she whispered, brokenly. “I lost something I didn’t even know I had. Alone.”
He looked away. “I messed up.”
“That’s it?” Her voice rose now, hoarse and raw. “That’s all you have to say?”
Kielo rubbed his face. “Cleo... I didn’t just come to say sorry. I came to tell you I’m leaving.”
She stilled. “What?”
“My family’s flying to Bahrain tonight. Rafa—my sister—she tried to overdose. She’s in a fragile state. My mom’s begging me to come. She can’t handle this alone.”
Cleo stared at him like the world had tilted sideways.
“You’re leaving,” she repeated. “After everything. After what we had. After what I just went through. You’re just going to disappear.”
“I don’t have a choice,” he said. “I need to be with my family. Rafa’s not okay.”
She shook her head, tears silently falling. “And I am?”
He took a step forward, but she recoiled.
“I gave you everything, Kielo. My heart. My body. My trust. I fought for you when no one else knew. I would’ve burned the world to be with you. And now you’re leaving me in ashes.”
“I love you,” he whispered.
“No,” she choked out. “You loved convenience. You loved me when I was your secret. But when it got hard? You chose them.”
Kielo’s jaw trembled. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You already did.”
They stood in silence, the clock ticking like it was mocking them both.
“Will you come back?” she asked, hating herself for still hoping.
“I don’t know,” he said, honestly.
That was the final crack.
She turned her face to the wall, broken. “Then go.”
“Cleo—”
“Go.”
Kielo hesitated... then walked to the door.
He looked back one last time—but she didn’t.
And then he left.
And with him went every trace of the girl who once believed love would be enough.
The door clicked shut behind Kielo.
And for a full minute, there was nothing but silence.
Then Cleo collapsed into herself.
Her chest heaved before the sound finally broke free—one strangled sob that tore through the sterile hospital air like thunder. Her hand flew to her mouth as if she could stop it, as if she could silence the heartbreak clawing its way out of her throat. But it was too late.
The pain demanded to be heard.
The grief swallowed her whole.
She wept for her baby.
She wept for the boy she thought loved her.
She wept for the part of herself she gave away and would never get back.
Crine, who had been pacing just outside the room, burst in at the sound. “Ate—”
Cleo looked at her with wide, tear-glossed eyes that barely saw anything anymore. “I must’ve done something wrong,” she gasped. “God must be punishing me, Crine. Maybe I was too selfish. Maybe I wasn’t meant to be—”
“No, no,” Crine whispered, running to her side. She climbed onto the hospital bed and pulled Cleo into her arms like she was little again—rocking her, holding her close, whispering through her own tears. “You’re not being punished. You’re not. You didn’t deserve this.”
“I loved him so much,” Cleo sobbed against her shoulder. “I gave him everything. And he still left.”
“I know,” Crine murmured, voice thick with emotion. “I know.”
Outside the door, Max stood frozen.
He had only meant to bring Crine some water. But then he heard everything.
And he couldn’t move.
He leaned against the wall, heart aching in places he hadn’t known existed. His eyes welled up, but he forced the tears back. This wasn’t about him. This was her pain—raw, ugly, and deeper than anything he’d ever witnessed.
He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
He had only just started to get to know Cleo, but in that moment, he understood something unspoken—something no one else might ever see.
Behind her wild spirit and radiant laugh, behind her stubborn jokes and endless flirting, was a girl who had loved too hard... and lost too much.
He stepped away from the door quietly.
But not from her.
Because something inside him told him, from that moment on—
He could never walk away from Cleo.
- Writer
