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The words I had once longed to hear so desperately were finally spoken by Liam. Yet, as they left his lips, they felt… underwhelming.
I brushed his hand away and replied, “Liam, please respect yourself.”
Moments earlier, when the stage collapsed in that chaotic instant, the face that flashed in my mind wasn’t Liam’s–it was Mason’s.
That’s when it all made sense. Deep down, the scale of my heart, the one that measures love, had quietly tipped in a direction I hadn’t even noticed.
Now, all I wanted was to go back and ask Mason how he really felt about me.
When I returned to my hometown, I learned Mason had been reassigned.
He was only here on a temporary detail, after all.
I didn’t dare ask when he’d be back, so instead, we texted sporadically–little fragments of conversation that filled the silence but never answered the bigger question.
Liam, on the other hand, kept reaching out to me until I had enough. I blocked him without hesitation. He stopped bothering me after that, but because we used to run in the same circles, news about him and Nina still seemed to seep into every corner of my life like air I couldn’t escape.
I heard Liam and Nina broke off their engagement.
I heard Nina’s father passed away.
I heard Liam invested in Nina’s family business.
I heard Nina got married, and Liam was gracious enough to send his congratulations.
The last bit of news I heard about Liam came from Zoe. She texted me, saying he’d been
in a bad accident.
A car crash. A serious one.
A car crash. A serious one.
When they brought him to the hospital, he kept repeating my name over and over.
I want to go.
Zoe, cautious as ever, asked me, “Do him? The doctors say his. Injuries are severe. He might never wake up again.”
I thought about it for a moment but ultimately said no.
If we’ve chosen to step out of each other’s lives, then let’s do it properly.
That summer, Mason finally managed to get some leave to visit. He came to see my mom and brought me a small gift while he was at it.
The box was small–about the size of my palm–and intricately wrapped.
When I tried to open it, Mason stopped me and said, “Not yet. Wait until we get there.”
I teased him for being so secretive, joking that he might not even want to give me the gift
at all.
Mason, usually so quick with words, suddenly stumbled over them, mumbling, “Just…
come with me. You’ll see.”
When the car stopped in front of my old high school, I was puzzled.
Why would Mason bring me here?
It wasn’t until he led me to the alumni wall and pointed to the honor roll photos that I realized why. There, side by side, were two familiar pictures–mine and his.
I stared, stunned. Mason and I had been classmates?
How could I not have any memory of this?
Mason’s face turned red as he explained, “Back in junior year, I got into a fight and got expelled from my old school. My dad pulled some strings and got me in here, but none of the teachers or students liked me. They even accused me of cheating. Out of the whole class, you were the only one who stood up for me. I never forgot that.“”
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“I wanted to go to the same college as you, but my dad changed my application behind my back. We fought over it for years.”
“Emma, I’ve been looking for you ever since. Now that I’ve found you, will you stay by my side?”
He knelt on one knee, holding out the small box he had given me earlier. Inside was a ring, its diamond catching the sunlight and sparkling brilliantly.
I covered my mouth, overwhelmed with surprise and joy, and nodded. “I will.”
We hugged, and Mason couldn’t wait to tell me about the life he was already planning for us. He’d applied to stay permanently in the area, and he wanted to start building a future with me–a house, a car, a happy family, and maybe, one day, kids of our own.
A future where we’d grow old together, until death parted us.
But in the shadows, unnoticed by anyone, Liam stood there.
In his hands, he held a bouquet of roses and a velvet box containing a ring just as dazzling as Mason’s.
The breeze picked up as Mason excitedly whisked me away to tour a new housing development he’d been eyeing. He was already making plans for every detail of our future together.
Meanwhile, Liam’s ring slipped from his trembling hands. It hit the ground with a hollow clink, spun once, and rolled into a storm drain, disappearing forever.
Love has its own way of punishing the weak.
I never doubted Liam’s feelings for me. Seven years together–if there hadn’t been love, how could we have lasted that long?
But he was a coward. He let fear of pain and loss hold him back, clinging to me with a selfish kind of love that felt more like family than passion.
How can someone who can’t even face their own heart promise forever?
He knelt on one knee, holding out the small box he had given me earlier. Inside was a
ring, its diamond catching the sunlight and sparkling brilliantly.
I covered my mouth, overwhelmed with surprise and joy, and nodded. “I will.”
We hugged, and Mason couldn’t wait to tell me about the life he was already planning for us. He’d applied to stay permanently in the area, and he wanted to start building a future with me–a house, a car, a happy family, and maybe, one day, kids of our own.
A future where we’d grow old together, until death parted us.
But in the shadows, unnoticed by anyone, Liam stood there.
In his hands, he held a bouquet of roses and a velvet box containing a ring just as dazzling as Mason’s.
The breeze picked up as Mason excitedly whisked me away to tour a new housing development he’d been eyeing. He was already making plans for every detail of our future together.
Meanwhile, Liam’s ring slipped from his trembling hands. It hit the ground with a hollow clink, spun once, and rolled into a storm drain, disappearing forever.
Love has its own way of punishing the weak.
I never doubted Liam’s feelings for me. Seven years together–if there hadn’t been love, how could we have lasted that long?
But he was a coward. He let fear of pain and loss hold him back, clinging to me with a selfish kind of love that felt more like family than passion.
How can someone who can’t even face their own heart promise forever?
For years, I chased Liam like a distant star, only to realize that the brightest light wasn’t some faraway celestial body.
Sometimes, it’s the warmth that’s been by your side all along.
