LOGIN“… I asked Zanders to talk to Mason.”The words didn’t fully register at first when Mom said it. I blinked because my mom is really not the kind that makes such requests; it must be her boyfriend who brought up the idea. I don't know how to react at first, and I would rather not point out what I thought. I was still lost staring at her when Ava's voice came.“Wait… what?” Her sharp reaction came faster than mine. “Aunt, why would you do that?” she repeated, her voice rising slightly.I turned to look at her. Yeah, she knows the kind of person Mason is too, so her reaction is definitely justified. I wasn’t the only one shocked.“Aunt…” Ava took a step forward, disbelief written all over her face. “You sent him to Mason? At the hotel?”“I didn’t send him,” Mum said quickly, just what I thought. “He wanted to go. I just—”“You told him where Mason is.” I completed the words for her.“… Yes.” She said.I let out a short, incredulous laugh.“That’s the same thing.” My chest tightened sligh
Waiting was the hardest part of any hard situation. It had always been. I stood by the window, my fingers lightly gripping the curtain as I stared out into the quiet street; nothing moved, nor did anything change. And yet, my chest refused to settle.Zanders should have called by now. Or maybe not; it's been quite a while since he said he was already at the hotel. Maybe I was expecting too much. I exhaled slowly, stepping away from the window.“You’re overthinking this.” I muttered it to myself. But it didn’t help, not even a bit.Because the truth was, I didn’t know what was happening over there, and that was worse than anything else. Different thoughts were running through my mind at the same time.What if Mason refused to listen?What if he walked away again?What if—“No.” I shook my head quickly. Let's just hope for a positive result. Zanders said he would handle it, and I trusted him. I did.But the trust didn’t erase the fear.The sound of footsteps pulled me out of my thoughts
I didn’t expect to see him, definitely not here, not like this. For a second, I just stood there, hand still on the door. Brain catching up. Zanders.Up close, he looked exactly how I remembered, even though I met him just once. Calm and composed. Like nothing in the world could shake him. I didn’t like that."What are you doing here?” I asked finally.His lips curved slightly. Not a smile.“I could say the same about you.”I scoffed under my breath. “Did my mom send you?”I asked straight to the point, no time for games. He didn’t answer immediately.Instead, he looked at me like he was studying something essential.Then “No,” his voice came.I scoffed, A lie, or at least, not the entire truth.“Right,” I muttered. “So you just happened to show up at my hotel?”“I came because I wanted to talk.” He said.I let out a short laugh. “With me?”“Yes.” He replied, still calm.“Why?” I asked.His gaze didn’t shift. “Because I think you deserve answers.”That made something in my chest tight
The house had never felt this quiet before,not even after my husband died. Back then, the silence was heavy and filled with grief. But it was shared. This silence? This was different. This silence felt… divided. I stood in the kitchen, my hands resting on the counter, staring at nothing in particular.The plates were still in the sink, untouched. No one had eaten properly since last night.Not Ethan.Not Ava.Not even Lila.And Mason… I exhaled deeply and closed my eyes briefly. I shouldn’t have let it get this far. That thought had been repeating in my head since yesterday.Over and over. I should have told them earlier, before now. I should have prepared them. I shouldn't have let it take me a whole year to—The sound of my phone ringing broke through my thoughts. I glanced down at the counter. Zanders. Of course it's him; who else cares this much to check up on me every single hour that passes? I hesitated just for a second because I know he will definitely pick out the sadness in
The room felt smaller than it was every single moment. I noticed it the moment I woke up this morning, and the room felt smaller than yesterday. It's still the same walls, same furniture, and same silence.But this morning, it felt… tighter, like the air had gotten heavier overnight.I sat up slowly, running a hand down my face. The sleep didn’t help; if anything, it just made things worse. Because now everything was clearer than yesterday. Too clear.Ethan’s voice replayed in my head over and over again. I can't seem to get how hurt he sounded out of my head, and it's annoying as fuck. “Annoying, or are you feeling guilty?” My subconscious mocked me, and my face went pale.I scoffed under my breath, swinging my legs off the bed. “Still wrong.” I mumbled.But the denial didn’t hit the same. Not like before. I stood up and walked toward the window, pulling the curtain slightly. The city was already awake. People are moving.Cars passing. Everyone was living their normal life as everyth
I knew Ava wasn’t going to let it go. The moment we walked in… So I wasn’t surprised when she knocked on my door ten minutes later.“Come in,” I said quietly. The door opened, and she stepped inside and just stood there watching me.“Okay,” she said finally. “What was that?”I blinked. “… What?”“Don’t do that,” she snapped. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about.”My stomach tightened. “I really don’t—”“Lila.” The way she said my name.She wasn’t playing.I sighed, looking away. “We were just talking.”Ava let out a dry laugh. “Right. Because that’s how you normally stand when you’re ‘just talking.’”Heat crept up my neck. “It wasn’t like that.”“Then what was it like?” she demanded.I hesitated because I didn’t know how to answer that. And that silence? Ava noticed.“That’s what I thought,” she muttered.“Ava, it’s not—”“What are you doing?” she cut in.The question hit harder than I expected.“I’m not doing anything.” I said.“You are,” she said firmly. “And yo
I stood outside my brother’s apartment. Pacing around and fidgeting with my hands. I took a deep breath but each time I stepped closer to the door, I chickened out, my hands trembling as cold sweat traveled down my spine. My throat bobbed knowing what waits for me behind that door the moment I ope
“Lila, are you out of your mind? Moving in with a guy? With Jake no less?” Mason roared as I stood in front of him in his living room. The anger was evident in every word that rolled off his tongue, the way his fist clenched, the way his eyes held this content I had never seen before. He hated th
“Oh sorry, I just had to greet my girlfriend, you don’t mind, do you, Ethan?” Jake muffled, eyes glaring at Ethan who remained silent and annoyingly and extremely composed. He didn’t even flinch.Instead, he turned to me, “See you.” He turned to Jake and glared at him and without having to hear Eth
I never knew Ethan had that side to him, making me smile effortlessly, teasing me like that was what his mouth was meant to do. Maybe we could be friends. But then my phone vibrated against the table, yanking me out of my little fantasy. My eyes looked down at my phone dancing by my side. I picke







