22.

Prepared to start his day early, Dimitri got into his car after ending a short call with Sofia. The previous day, she confirmed that the earring he found was hers, and he decided to hand it over to her on his way to work. It wasn't a long drive, and he preferred to do it himself, so he set off early, taking the fastest route to the apartment complex.

After his conversation with his father and remembering all his sister said to him, he believed it would be better to create a bit of distance between Sofia and himself. No matter how he wished to change the past, she would forever be someone he loved. Someone he dated, and there would always be that memory between them.

Friendship wasn't possible because it would be easy to confuse the feelings again. Easy to fall into the same rabbit hole that ate away at them day by day. Sofia assured him they were mature enough to handle seeing each other, and he agreed, but he also understood that there needed to be a limit. They had danced to the sam