change of heart 10 - the last part

Liam had always been good at pretending things didn't affect him. He had a way of keeping his emotions wrapped up tight, buried beneath layers of indifference, jokes, and sarcasm. For years, it had worked. He kept people at arm's length, never letting them get too close, never letting himself get too attached.

But then Maya happened.

It had started so casually, so effortlessly. Dinner dates, random texts, shared laughs over drinks at the bar. But what started as a simple connection soon became something deeper, something he wasn't sure he was prepared for.

They'd gotten close in ways Liam didn't even know he was capable of. He'd opened up to her—really opened up—in ways he never had with anyone. They talked about everything: childhood memories, regrets, the dumb little things that made them laugh, the fears that haunted them at night. He could feel himself slowly letting down walls he'd spent his whole life building.

It felt natural, too natural, like everything was falling into place. And maybe that's what scared him the most—because deep down, Liam knew that things like this didn't last. He'd seen enough of life to know that people came and went. Relationships didn't work out. People changed, grew apart, and when they did, it hurt.

But for a while, he let himself believe that maybe, just maybe, he could be wrong.

The day everything fell apart started out like any other. Liam had just finished up a long shift at work when he checked his phone and saw a message from Maya.

Maya: Can we talk?

He felt his stomach drop instantly, his pulse quickening. They'd never been the kind of couple who overthought things, never the kind to make drama out of nothing. But the tone of that text—it wasn't casual. It wasn't lighthearted.

Liam: What's up?

Maya: Can I come over?

Liam felt his chest tighten. He'd never been great at waiting. The uncertainty gnawed at him, but he tried to shove it aside. Don't jump to conclusions, he told himself. But that was the thing with Maya—she had a way of making everything feel like it was going to be okay, even when it wasn't.

When she showed up at his apartment an hour later, he could already see something was wrong. Her eyes were red, like she'd been crying.

"Hey," Liam said, his voice hesitant. "What's going on?"

Maya stepped inside, her face pale. She didn't meet his eyes as she set her purse down on the couch.

"I don't know how to say this," she started, her voice shaking.

Liam's heart skipped a beat. He stepped closer. "Maya, what's wrong?"

She looked up at him, and there was something in her expression that made him feel like he was already losing her.

"I… I think we need to take a break," she said, her words hanging in the air like a heavy weight.

Liam blinked, trying to process what she had said. "A break? What do you mean?"

"I just… I don't think I can do this right now," Maya said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not in a good place. I need to figure some things out. And I… I don't think it's fair to you to keep pretending like I'm okay when I'm not."

Liam's breath caught in his throat. His mind was racing, but he couldn't make sense of anything. He wanted to reach out, grab her, make her stay, but instead, he just stood there, frozen. "Maya, I don't understand. What happened? We were good. We were…"

But she wasn't listening anymore. She was already stepping back, as if pulling away from him physically made it easier to do the same emotionally.

"I care about you, Liam. But I'm not… I'm not ready for this. For us." She shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "I need space. I need to be alone."

Liam's heart felt like it was shattering inside his chest. Every word she said hit him harder than the last, and all he could do was stand there, helpless. He had tried so hard. He had opened up to her. Let her in. And now, it was slipping through his fingers.

"What's going on, Maya?" he asked again, his voice barely above a whisper. "What's changed?"

"I don't know. I just… I don't feel like I'm the person you need me to be," she said, her voice breaking. "I don't know who I am anymore. And I'm scared that I'm dragging you down with me."

Liam opened his mouth to say something—anything—but the words wouldn't come.

And then she was gone.

The next few days passed in a blur. Liam went through the motions, showing up to work, meeting up with Daniel, pretending like everything was fine. But it wasn't.

His phone stayed silent. He didn't hear from Maya. He didn't know what to do with himself. He didn't know how to fix it because, deep down, he knew there was nothing to fix. She had made her decision.

But that didn't stop the ache inside of him.

A week later, Liam ran into Maya at the grocery store. She was alone, her eyes tired, her posture stiff. She looked like a shadow of the woman he'd spent weeks getting to know.

Liam approached her cautiously, unsure what to say. "Hey."

Maya looked up, startled. Her face softened for a moment, but then it hardened again. "Hey."

They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, neither of them knowing what to say. Finally, Liam spoke. "I've been thinking about what happened. And I just—"

"Maya, please," he said, his voice breaking. "Don't leave me hanging. Just tell me what went wrong."

Maya's eyes welled up, and for a moment, Liam thought she was going to cry again. "Liam, I don't want to hurt you," she said quietly. "But I think… I think we both knew deep down that I wasn't really ready for this. For us. And you deserve someone who can give you the kind of love you need. Someone who's not so lost inside their own head."

Liam swallowed hard, trying to hold it together. "But I want to be there for you. I'm here for you, Maya."

She shook her head. "I know you are. But I can't be what you need me to be."

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. He could feel his chest tightening, his throat closing up. "So that's it?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

Maya nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Liam. I really am. But I think this is what's best for both of us."

And then, before he could say anything else, she turned and walked away.

Liam stood there in the middle of the grocery store, feeling like the world had just fallen apart. The people around him continued with their shopping, their lives moving on, while he stood frozen in place, unable to move.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, but eventually, he felt Daniel's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, man," Daniel said softly. "You okay?"

Liam didn't answer. He couldn't. Because the truth was, he wasn't okay. He wasn't even close.

The words he wanted to say, the things he wanted to feel, all seemed so distant. Maya had slipped away, and now he had to face the fact that maybe—just maybe—he wasn't meant to have the things he wanted most.

Not this time.

And as the reality set in, Liam realized something he hadn't wanted to admit before: some things just weren't meant to be