Sienna's POV Because if I were honest, I knew I could never truly shut Liam out completely. He was the wound that had never quite healed. And part of me still clung to the memories of what we once had.My gaze returned to the invitation lying on the table. Next week. There was still time.Maybe I would go. Maybe I wouldn’t.But at least now I knew Noah wanted me there. And that was enough to make me wonder if I was ready to open the door I had kept locked for so long.I picked up the invitation again, tracing the stiff edge of the paper with my fingertips. The print was simple, no elaborate flourishes—just the date, the place, the names of two people about to bind their lives on an important day. But for me, this piece of paper carried more weight than any ordinary invitation. It was a door. A door I could leave shut, or open just a crack, letting the past seep back in.Next week. It felt close, yet far enough to leave me restless each passing day unti
Sienna's POVI drew in a long breath and slowly sat back down on the chair. My hands clutched the coffee cup that had long gone cold. For some reason, the apartment felt emptier than usual. And I hated admitting that.I sat still at the dining table, still cluttered with the remnants of the breakfast Liam had brought earlier. The half-eaten sandwich had lost its warmth. The coffee in my cup was cold, its taste flat now. Yet I kept holding on to it, as if it were the only tangible thing I could cling to today.Liam’s words still echoed in my head. “I’ll come again, even if you keep driving me away.”Why didn’t he ever grow tired? Why did he keep coming, keep waiting, keep smiling, even though I had made it clear over and over that I didn’t want him here? Or maybe I was only pretending not to?I turned my face toward the window. The sea stretched out calm in the distance, the sky a cloudless blue hanging wide above, and the breeze carried its familiar briny s
Sienna's POV I stared at the table, tracing its spotless surface, noticing the faint ring left behind by the cooled cup of tea. That small detail only deepened my emptiness, as if I had to cling to trivial things just to avoid being swept away by a stronger current. A hidden longing stirred, one I refused to name a longing for a life that once felt so familiar, but had always been edged with thorns.Slowly, I realized how difficult it was to draw a sharp line between wanting to shut the door forever and wanting to leave it slightly open. His presence wasn’t wholly disturbing, but it didn’t bring comfort either. It felt like sitting between two worlds: the one that had ended, and the one that had yet to take shape.I finished the last of my breakfast halfheartedly, swallowing the cold tea. It was bitter, stinging against my tongue. And still, my eyes tried to avoid his figure. But in the silence, I only became more aware of how much space he filled. Even without words,
Sienna's POV I drew in a long breath. My eyes lingered on the invitation as if it could somehow hand me an answer. Then, slowly, I set it back down on the table. “I’ll think about it,” I finally murmured, my voice nearly drowned out by the clamor echoing inside my own chest.Liam gave a small nod, as though that alone was enough for him. “Alright,” he said softly. “That’s enough for now.”I glanced at my half-finished breakfast. The thick sandwich that had seemed unappetizing earlier now tasted like nothing on my tongue. But I didn’t want to hear another lecture from Liam, so I forced myself to take one more small bite.“Finish your breakfast, Sienna,” he said with a faint smile one that, strangely, was beginning to look familiar again in my eyes.I nodded silently, sipping from my cup of tea that had already cooled. Unease crept into me as I noticed Liam still sitting there, leaning comfortably against the chair back as if this were his own home.I inh
Sienna's POV “If it came to that, then I’d have to ask permission properly from security, wouldn’t I?” he said, popping a piece of sandwich into his mouth casually, as though we were having a lighthearted chat, not standing on the fragile edge between the past and wounds that had never fully healed.I sighed, rolling my eyes. But there was nothing more I could say.Silently, I studied him. The way he ate, the way he sat as if he owned the place, even the way he gazed out my apartment window as though it were his, too. Maybe once, it really had been.“Why are you like this, Liam?” I blurted suddenly, unable to hold it back. “Why do you keep coming, keep pushing your way in, as if you have the right to stay by my side?”He turned slowly. His gaze softened, grew more serious. No smile now, only a calmness that was almost painful.“Because I know, Sienna,” he said quietly. “Because I realize I destroyed the most precious thing in my life. And the only thing wors
Sienna's POV My eyes were still heavy, the lids glued shut as if with wood glue. My head felt stuffed with cotton, maybe because I had stayed up too late the night before. But the sound of the doorbell kept ringing once, twice, three times—with patient, consistent persistence. I groaned softly, pulled the blanket over my head, hoping whoever it was would give up.They didn’t. The bell rang again. And again.With a resigned breath, I dragged myself out of bed, shuffling toward the door like a zombie rising from its grave. My hair was no doubt a tangled nest, and my pajamas were far from presentable for receiving visitors.The moment the door opened, I froze.“Morning, Sienna.”Liam.He was standing there, holding two large grocery bags that looked filled with food. But what unsettled me most was the broad smile on his face. A smile I had never seen before, the kind someone wears when they’ve just found a reason to live again.“What brings you here?” I