로그인Dylan's POVFor the first time since I met her, she didn’t pull away completely, she stepped back, yes, created space but she stayed and that mattered more than the kiss.More than the words.More than anything else that had happened tonight.I watched her carefully, the way she shifted her weight slightly, like she was still grounding herself, still adjusting to something new she hadn’t fully accepted yet.Her arms dropped from where she had wrapped them around herself earlier, now resting loosely at her sides, less guarded, not open but not closed either… progress.“You’re quiet,” I said. She let out a soft breath, glancing away briefly before looking back at me.“I’m thinking.”“That’s dangerous.” A faint smile touched her lips, barely there but real.“You’re one to talk.”“I’ve already decided.”“That’s exactly the problem.”“It’s only a problem if I’m wrong.” She tilted her head slightly.“And you don’t think you are?”“No.”Her eyes lingered on mine for a moment longer this time
Aliya's POVFor a moment after he pulled away, I couldn’t move.I stood there, exactly where he had left me, my hand still resting lightly against his chest like it hadn’t gotten the message that everything had just changed.The room felt… different.Not in a loud way.Nothing had shifted physically, the furniture was the same, the soft glow of the city still spilled through the window, the faint hum of distant traffic carried through the glass.But something inside me, something quiet and carefully controlled for years, had just been undone.My lips still tingled faintly, the warmth of the kiss lingering in a way that made it impossible to pretend it hadn’t happened.I swallowed.Slowly.Then inhaled.But even that felt unsteady.Dylan hadn’t moved far.He stood close, close enough that I could still feel the heat of him, still sense the space we had just crossed and couldn’t uncross.And the worst part?I didn’t want to.That realization hit deeper than anything else.I looked up at
Dylan's POV There was something about the way she looked at me that night that made it impossible to pretend this was still simple. It wasn’t just the softness. Or the lack of resistance.It was the fact that she wasn’t hiding it anymore.Not completely.She stood a few steps away from me, the dim glow from the city lights slipping through the window behind her, outlining her figure in soft shadows. The room felt quieter now, the kind of quiet that didn’t come from silence but from everything settling into place. Leo was asleep. The world outside kept moving.But in here, everything felt suspended“You’re thinking again,” I said, Her lips curved faintly, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.“I do that.”“Too much.”“And you don’t do it enough.”“I do it when it matters.” She tilted her head slightly, studying me.“And this matters?”“Yes.” There was no hesitation, no pause, just truth.Something shifted in her expression again—something deeper this time. Not just uncertainty. Recognit
Aliya's POVThe sound of Leo’s laughter carried easily down the hallway, bright, unrestrained.It bounced lightly off the walls, filling the apartment in a way that made everything feel warmer than it actually was.I stood where I was for a moment after Dylan disappeared into Leo’s room, my fingers resting loosely against the edge of the door.Then I exhaled, slowly.Like I was trying to release something I hadn’t fully named yet.It didn’t work, because even from here, I could hear them.Leo talking too fast, his words tumbling over each other.Dylan responding, calmer, steady, like he had all the time in the world.And the strange part?He sounded like he belonged there. That was what unsettled me. Not the fact that he came back, but how easily he fit into a space I had spent years building carefully, deliberately, without anyone else in it.I closed the door gently and leaned back against it for a second, staring ahead.“This is not normal,” I muttered under my breath.But the word
Dylan's POV I wasn’t used to waking up thinking about someone, not like this, not in a way that lingered.Usually, mornings were structured… meetings, schedules, decisions waiting to be made before the day even properly started. My mind moved fast, efficiently, always ten steps ahead.But today, it stalled, not completely, just enough because the first thing that crossed my mind wasn’t work, it was her, the way she looked at me last night, the hesitation, the honesty, the fact that she didn’t say no.I exhaled slowly, sitting on the edge of my bed, elbows resting on my knees as I stared at the floor for a moment longer than necessary, this wasn’t complicated, it didn’t need to be.But she was making it that way, and I understood why, that didn’t mean I was stepping back, my phone buzzed softly on the bedside table, a reminder, meetings, calls, responsibilities.I picked it up, glancing at the notifications before locking the screen again, none of it felt urgent, not compared to what
Aliya's POVThe apartment felt different after he left, not quieter, not emptier, just… altered. Like something had been moved slightly out of place, even though everything looked exactly the same. I stood by the door for a few seconds longer than necessary, my hand still resting lightly against the handle, as if I hadn’t fully registered that he was gone.His absence didn’t rush in. It settled, slow, persistent. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and turned away, walking back into the living room. Everything was still where we left it. Leo’s toy car sat abandoned near the edge of the rug, one wheel slightly tilted. A pillow had slipped halfway off the couch. The faint scent of Dylan’s cologne lingered in the air, subtle but present.That was the worst part, not overwhelming, just enough to remind me. I moved toward the couch and sat down slowly, my fingers brushing absentmindedly over the fabric as I stared ahead. This wasn’t supposed to feel like this. It was suppose
Aliyah's POVI sprinted towards my car without waiting for anything and drove to the hospital where Elena was supposed to be, but before I got there, I received a call from Leo.“I am with Elena in front of the mall, and she’s not okay.”“Wait, how are you with her?”“She took me out with her, and
Aliya's POV“You didn’t tell me you would come,” I said as I saw Dylan’s Porsche parked outside the school’s compound. It is another visitation at the school.“You did not ask.”“But we both agreed you wouldn’t come when he insisted.”“Yes, and then he called me and I could not turn him down.”“Oh
Aliya's POV“I have moved on, I suggest you do the same.”He looked at me as if he was in an actual pin and, somewhere deep down, I felt like I had hurt him but when I remembered how he had looked at me the night he gave me the divorce papers, I knew that I could not believe anything from him, so I
Dylan's POVWhat again does this old man want?I asked myself as I looked at the phone blaring loudly beside my bed. It is so early for Christ's sake!Looks like he was pretty determined to wake me up from sleep because the calls did not stop. Eventually, I grabbed my phone and picked it up.“Don't







