Chapter 5

"You weren't figuring anything out. You were stringing me along while you chased attention.""That's not fair!" she snapped, but her voice cracked."No," I said, calm as ever. "What wasn't fair was asking for loyalty while planning your exits."She looked down. "I miss you," she whispered. "Everything's so empty now."I nodded. "Yeah, that happens when you burn bridges before you know how to swim."She looked like she might cry. I didn't care."You don't even want to hear me out?" she asked."I did hear you out. That night, you said I was controlling, insecure, and outdated. That was the last conversation we needed to have."She stared at me like she didn't recognize me. Maybe she didn't. Maybe for the first time, she was seeing me not as the quiet guy who'd do anything to keep her happy, but as someone who finally realized he deserved better."You're really not coming back, are you?""No," I said. "And you're not, either."Then I walked past her, hit the elevator button, and didn't look back.After that lobby encounter, I expected her to take the hint. She didn't. A week later, my email inbox blew up again—not just from Sarah, from her mother. Yep, her actual mom emailed me.Subject line: Sarah is hurting. Please don't abandon her when she needs you most.As if I hadn't already watched her throw our relationship off a cliff, light it on fire, and live-stream the fall. The email was a guilt trip disguised as concern: long paragraphs about how Sarah has always struggled with relationships, how I was the first stable influence in her life, and how "a strong man doesn't walk away when a woman is confused."I didn't respond. I archived it like spam.Then came her sister, Jenny, texting me out of nowhere:I know she messed up, but you guys had something real. She cries every night.I blocked the number.A few days later, I found a handwritten letter in my building's mailbox: no stamp, just folded paper.Eric, you didn't even give me a chance to explain. I wasn't trying to replace you. I was scared. I thought if I had options, I'd feel safer. But all I've done is ruined the one person who actually saw me. I miss your quiet mornings. Your coffee. I miss how safe I felt with you. I thought I wanted chaos. I thought I wanted excitement. I was wrong. Please, even just a coffee. Let me show you I've changed. —Sarah

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