Chapter 4
it you
The house was suffocating, like it was shrinking in on me with every passing second. I didn’t belong here anymore, and I could feel it in the air. Every corner of this place had once been filled with memories, but now it just felt empty. I sat on the floor, surrounded by the wedding invitations I had. painstakingly written. Each one fell heavier than the last as I shredded them into pieces. The fragments fell like confetti, but this wasn t a celebration–it was the end.
I had loved Darius with everything I had. But love doesn‘ t survive on hope alone.
When the last invitation was torn, I stood up, feeling lighter but not any less broken. The kitchen was silent, no smell of breakfast like there used to be when Darius tried to cheer me up with pancakes on bad days. The house had lost its warmth, and I had too.
Later that morning. I heard the door click open. Darius walked in casually, like it was any other day. He carried a bouquet, roses, bright and red, as if that would fix anything.
“Rina. I got these for you,” he said, holding them out with a sheepish smile. “I know I haven’t been…. around much.”
I stared at the flowers for a moment before turning away. “You don’t need to pretend anymore. I know why you ve been gone.”
His face faltered. “What do you mean?”
“Alina. I saw you both yesterday,” I said, feeling the knot in my chest tighten. “At the café. You didn’t see me, but I saw everything.”
The color drained from his face. He didn’t try to deny it. He just stood there, holding those roses like they were a burden now. “Rina, its not what you think,” he began, but I cut him off.
“Don t said, shaking my head. “I don’t need any more lies.”
Darius sighed, setting the roses on the counter. He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated but defeated. “We” ve been through so much together,” he said softly. “Can’t we just… talk about this?
Work it out?”
I scoffed, unable to contain the bitterness bubbling up inside me. “Work it out? You mean like how you worked things out with her?”
Silence. He had nothing to say, and that hurt more than anything.
I walked past him, my chest tight. “I m leaving.” I said, grabbing my coat from the rack. “I can’t stay here and pretend anymore.”
Darius followed me to the door, his voice pleading now. “Rina, wait. Don’t go. You don’t
understand.”
I stopped, my hand on the doorknob, but I didn’t turn around. “I understand perfectly,” I whispered, then walked out the door without looking back.
I drove for hours, the road stretching out in front of me like an endless escape. I didn’t have at destination in mind, just the need to get away from everything. I pulled over by the coast, where the waves crashed violently against the rocks, mirroring the storm inside me.
I stayed there until the sky turned dark, the cold wind biting at my skin. But even the chill couldn’t numb the ache in my heart. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, staring at the ocean, but when I finally turned back to the ear, my phone buzzed.
A message from Darius.
“Rina, please come back. We need to talk. I don’t want to lose you.
you.”
I stared at the screen, the words blurring as tears welled up in my eyes. He still didnt get it. He thought this was something we could fix, like a crack in a vase. But some things couldn’t be mended, no matter how hard you tried.
I didn’t reply. Instead, I drove to the nearest hotel, checking in under a false name. I needed time to think, to figure out what to do next.
The next morning, I woke to a string of missed calls from Darius. I ignored them, staring at the ceiling, my mind blank. I had no energy left to feel angry or sad. I was just… tired.
Later, I drove back to the house, unsure why I was even returning. Maybe to collect my things, maybe for closure I wasn’t sure. But when I pulled into the driveway, I saw something that made my heart
stop.
Darius was standing outside, leaning against the car. And next to him was Alina.
She was laughing, her hand resting on his arm like it was the most natural thing in the world. They didn t notice me as I sat frozen in the car, watching the two of them. I didn’t even realize I was crying until a tear slipped down my cheek.
I took a deep breath, wiping my face quickly. I couldn’t do this. Not again.
Without thinking, I started the car and reversed out of the driveway. But the sudden movement caught their attention, and Darius turned to see me speeding off.
“Rina!” I heard him shout, but I didn’t stop.
I drove back to the coast, the only place that felt like it could swallow my pain. This time, I left my phone behind, turning it off so I wouldn’t have to see his name flashing on the screen again.
1 walked down to the shore, the cold wind whipping through my hair. The waves crashed violently against the rocks, a perfect mirror of the chaos inside me.
For the first time in years, I realized I had been living a lie. A lie that I had created, believing that if I loved Darius enough, he would love me back in the same way. But love wasn‘ t supposed to feel like this–like drowning.
I stood there for what felt like hours, watching the ocean, letting the wind carry away my pain. And then, finally, I felt it–the release. The weight lifting off my heart.
When I returned to the hotel that night, I booked a one–way ticket out of town. I packed my bags, leaving everything that tied me to this place behind.
As I left the hotel, my phone buzzed one last time. I glanced at the screen and saw message from
Darius.
He begged me to go back and told me to tell him my address so that he could pick me up in person. I wasn t going back!
This is goodbye!
I was inside the car when I heard Darius’s panicked voice in my head,
11102
“Our Wedding ceremony is about to begin, where are you?”
