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    My steps paused for a moment in front of the ss door of the small café just across from the apartment. The damp morning air still clung to my skin, but it wasn’t that which made my body feel heavy-it was the reality that I was about to sit down and talk with someone who had once been the center of my life… and also its


    undoing.


    I pushed the door open and immediately spotted Liam sitting in the corner of the café, wearing a dark shirt, his hands sped anxiously on the table. His eyes went straight to me the moment I walked in. I saw a sh of relief on his face, but I didn’t return his expression with a smile. I took a deep breath and walked over.


    “Morning,” I murmured briefly, then sat down across from him.


    “Morning,” Liam replied softly.


    A barista came over and we ordered. I chose an espresso. I needed something strong to keep my mind steady


    during this conversation. Liam ordered an americano.


    Once our drinks arrived, he looked at the small cup in front of me, then at me.


    “Since when do you like espresso?” he asked softly, trying to break the ice.


    I shrugged, sipping the bitter liquid slowly before answering, “Since always.”


    Liam frowned. “I… I didn’t know.”


    I let out a shortugh. Bitter. “Of course, you didn’t know. What do you know, Liam?”


    Immediately, silence fell over our table. I could see how he tried to absorb my words, swallowing them without knowing how to respond. He looked like a man just realizing he’d missed the entirety of the life of the person


    who used to sleep beside him.


    Liam lowered his gaze. His fingers clenched on the table, then slowly rxed, as if he wanted to say something


    but couldn’t find the weight to lift the words. Meanwhile, my eyes drifted to the window, watching the cars go by, the people rushing through their routines. Life goes on. Even when our world is falling apart, the universe never really stops.


    I reached for my coffee and took another sip. The bitterness stung my tongue, but part of me weed it— maybe because that taste felt honest. It didn’t pretend to be sweet. It didn’t lie, unlike so many things I used to


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    Liam shifted his water ss. A small movement, barely audible, but enough to disturb the quiet. I didn’t turn to him. There was a strange pause hanging between us, like a breath held too long with no clue how to release it.


    My mind wandered, tracing the fragments of a past I once called home. Memories of lonely nights when I stayed awake alone, of holding back sobs so I wouldn’t wake Noah, of learning to be strong simply because I had no other choice. All of ityered into scars that never truly healed.


    Sitting across from me now was the man I had once given every piece of myself to. But also the man who quietly


    left-not physically, but through his absence of attention, of empathy, of love that should’ve protected instead of neglecting.


    The morning sun began slipping through the thin curtains, casting a soft shadow across the table. I stared at


    the light for a moment. Strange, how peaceful everything seemed, when I still carried a storm inside my chest.


    But maybe that’s how pain works. It can look so calm on the surface, while gaping wide beneath.


    Liam leaned back in his chair, and I noticed how tired his features looked-more worn than thest time I


    remembered him. His hair a little longer, his eyes dimmer. But it didn’t change the fact that he was still the


    same man—the one who made me feel most alone even when he was right beside me.


    Time seemed to slow. I lifted my gaze from my cup, briefly looking at him. Still no words. But maybe that was


    for the best. Some things didn’t need exnation. Wounds knew how to speak for themselves. And today’s


    silence had said enough: not everything broken can be made whole again.


    “What do you want to talk about?” I finally asked, cutting straight to the point.


    Liam looked at me, his gaze intense. He seemed exhausted, and honestly, I couldn’t tell if it was fromck of


    sleep… or from losing me.


    “I want you toe back,” he said softly, but firmly.


    My blood boiled instantly. I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you serious?”


    He nodded slowly.


    “Liam,” my voice trembled with restrained emotion. “You still don’t get it, do you?”


    “No,” he admitted. “I don’t. I thought you loved me. If you did, why did you leave?”


    Iughed. This time, more clearly. Not because it was funny-but because it was too ironic.


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    “So that’s what you think?” I looked him in the eye. “You think I left because I stopped loving you?”


    He said nothing. Neither denying nor confirming.


    I set my cup down. “Have you forgotten, Liam? I stayed by your side for years, hoping you’d see me. Praying silently that you’d touch me without it feeling forced. But you were cold. Distant. As if I was just the mother of


    your child-not your partner.”


    “Sienna-”


    “I’m not finished,” I cut in, my voice quiet, but sharp. “You shut your heart. You were never really there for me. You were present, but empty. Do you have any idea how painful it is to love someone who doesn’t even see


    you?”


    His jaw clenched. His eyes held something that looked like regret, but no rity.


    “Now that I’ve left, now that everything’s fallen apart, you want me back? Just like that? Because you miss


    me?”


    Liam opened his mouth, but I said it first: “You’re selfish.”


    “No-I just… I’m confused, Sienna. It hurts. Something’s missing. I thought… I thought I’d be okay. But the truth is, I can’t stop thinking about you.”


    I gave a bitter smile. “That’s not love, Liam. That’s guilt. Or maybe ate realization of what you’ve lost.’


    “But I truly want you toe back. For Noah… for us.”


    >>


    GET IT N…


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