Lahat ng Kabanata ng Pieces of Me He Never Protected: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

The room didn’t change.But something inside Josh did.He was still sitting in the chair across from Daniel, elbows resting on his knees now, hands clasped loosely like he’d forgotten what he meant to do with them. The fan above spun lazily, pushing warm air around, its faint clicking sound filling the space neither of them spoke into.Josh stared at the floor.Not really seeing it.Just… looking.Daniel didn’t interrupt.He knew better.Silence was where truth usually surfaced.Minutes passed.Real minutes.Not story minutes.Josh finally spoke, but his voice came out lower than before.“She looked calm.”Daniel didn’t respond yet.Josh swallowed.“Too calm.”That bothered him more than anger would have.If she had arguedIf she had pleadedIf she had gotten emotionalhe would’ve understood it.But calm?Calm meant distance.Calm meant thought.Calm meant she wasn’t reacting anymore.“She used to panic when I sounded upset,” he added quietly. “She used to ask what was wrong before I

Josh didn’t sleep again.After the dream, sleep felt dangerous. Like if he closed his eyes, he’d lose her again not symbolically, not emotionally, but completely.So he stayed awake.Listening to the quiet.Watching the ceiling lighten slowly as night loosened its grip and morning crept in through the curtains.He replayed the dream in pieces.Her voice. Her calm. The way she said you were.That word kept circling his mind like an insect he couldn’t swat.Were.He sat up on the bed, elbows resting on his knees, head bowed slightly.This wasn’t about Thelma.He knew that now.Thelma was just… there.A witness.A reminder that Diamond existed outside of him.What bothered Josh wasn’t that someone else could want her.It was that she could want herself more.That idea made his chest tighten.Josh had always believed love meant presence.Showing up. Calling. Claiming. Being known as her boyfriend.But presence wasn’t enough anymore.Not for her.She wanted something else.Something quiete

Josh felt it before he understood it.Diamond had changed.Not in the obvious way. She still laughed at the right moments. Still leaned into him. Still answered his calls. Still showed up.But something about her presence felt… measured.Intentional.And that unsettled him more than anger ever could.They were at Daniel’s place that evening. Music low. A few friends scattered around. The usual environment where Josh thrived noise, distraction, attention.Diamond sat comfortably beside him, legs crossed, calm as ever.The girls were there too.Not Peaches she was miles away.But two of the “regulars.”Girls who used to orbit Josh casually. Girls who assumed Diamond was just another phase.Diamond knew them.Not personally.But by reputation.Josh didn’t know she knew.That was the beauty of it.Daniel walked over with drinks, eyes flicking between Josh and Diamond. There was something cautious in his stare — like he wasn’t fully relaxed anymore.“Diamond,” Daniel greeted, offering her

Diamond didn’t scream. She didn’t cry. She didn’t throw anything.She simply watched.She watched Josh laugh at Daniel’s jokes, lean back with that effortless confidence, touch her waist like possession could erase the past. But she wasn’t fooled.Not anymore.Peaches.A 100-level girl. Pregnant once, pressured to abort, left to carry a secret he didn’t even believe was his.Diamond didn’t think of her with anger. She didn’t think of her with pity. She thought of her as part of the truth one that showed exactly who Josh was.She sat on her bed replaying it all. The charm. The confidence. The control he wielded so casually. And now, this.Josh had erased consequences as easily as he erased girls from his phone. He discarded responsibility. He dismissed reality. He was not reckless in ignorance he was reckless in design.That night, when Josh held her close, Diamond felt the familiar warmth of his body, the rhythm of his heartbeat. She stayed still. Calm. Present. But internally, she

The afternoon on campus was unusually calm.Students moved slowly between lecture halls, some sitting under trees while others argued about assignments and upcoming tests.Diamond walked beside Thelma, listening half-heartedly as he talked about something that had happened during his morning class.“…and the lecturer just kept repeating the same thing like we were the problem,” Thelma said.Diamond nodded slightly, though her mind was far away.Josh had been acting normal lately.Too normal.Calling her.Checking on her.Acting like everything in his world was perfectly balanced.But Diamond already knew that Josh’s life was never that simple.She had seen enough.He had other girls.Different stories.Different lives.And somehow he kept them all separate.Or at least… he tried to.Diamond adjusted the strap of her bag as they approached the open space in front of the faculty building.That was when she noticed her.A girl standing near the walkway.She looked young.Maybe a fresher.