Breaking Ponit

I closed my eyes for a moment, willing the sting behind them to disappear. "It's not that simple."

Liam let out a short, humorless laugh. "It never is with us, is it?"

The food arrived then, breaking the intensity between us. But neither of us moved to touch it.

The fight had burned itself out, leaving only the aching, lingering embers.

And for the first time in a long time, we just sat there—together, but still worlds apart.

The weight of the night clung to me long after she left.

I should've said more. Should've done more. But I just let her walk away—again.

I sat in my car outside the restaurant, gripping the steering wheel like it could somehow hold me together. The echo of her voice, sharp with hurt and anger, replayed in my head like a broken record.

"You don't get to say that, Liam. You don't get to act like you're the one who suffered most."

She was right.

I slammed my palm against the dashboard, frustration boiling over. The feeling was suffocating, this overwhelming, gnawing regret. I had spent years convincing myself that fate had stolen her from me, but the truth was much worse.

I let her go.

And now she was slipping away again.

My phone buzzed. For a second, hope flared in my chest—maybe it was her.

It wasn't.

Veronica's name flashed across the screen. My stomach twisted. I let it ring.

I wasn't in the mood for more lies. More obligations. More of the life I never wanted.

Instead, I turned the key in the ignition and drove.

I didn't know where I was going—just that I couldn't stay here, drowning in memories of her. But no matter how far I went, the ache followed, a shadow that refused to leave.

It was then I realized.

I could have everything—money, power, a future laid out before me.

But none of it meant anything.

Because the one thing I wanted most in this world…

I had already lost.