I turned away and went into the kitchen to turn off the faucet.
Only then did I realize the water had overflowed, running down the white
tiles and pooling at my feet.
Suddenly, a hand reached from behind me and twisted the valve shut.
Lucas’s voice brushed against my ear, low and tight with restraint.
“Are you really going to leave?”
I didn’t look back.
“Yes,” I said softly. “I already gave you my heart. What else is there
for me to stay for?”
He was silent for a few seconds.
When he finally spoke, his tone was a bitter blend of laughter and sigh.
“You’re too naive, love. Without me, you’re nothing.”
I turned to face him.
“Then after I’m gone,” I said, meeting his gaze, “let’s see whose heart
stops first.”
I picked up my bag and walked to the door.
The moment it closed behind me, a gust of wind swept in, brushing
against my face.
And right then, I understood—
I had once saved his heart, but now, I was finally learning to save my
own.
Nova’s laughter still lingered in the air, sharp and thin, pricking at
my eardrums like needles.
I stood there, barely breathing.
That dress.
That color.
That fragment of a past he had once buried—
now draped across another woman’s body.