No words. No look back. Nothing.


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    The next morning, the mood in the vi was suffocating.


    I barely left my room. The ocean didn’t call to me. The pool felt pointless. Even Sophia’s soft knock went unanswered.


    By the time I dragged myself downstairs, most people had vanished.


    Noah was already gone. Flew back to Ennd at sunrise.


    Linda had packed up and vanished like a ghost in the night.


    No announcement. No goodbyes.


    And Liam?


    He showed upte to breakfast, sunsses indoors, jaw tense. Then, in the middle of pouring coffee, he announced, “Something came up. I’m flying back to L.A. today.”


    Just an abrupt end to a vacation that had already soured


    The jet ride back to Los Angeles was the longest hours of my life.


    Liam sat at the front, arms crossed, headphones in, but no music ying. Just silence and tension. His gaze stayed fixed on the clouds beyond the window, like if he stared long enough, he could disappear into them.


    He snapped at the flight attendant when she asked if he wanted coffee.


    He snapped at Jay for adjusting the lighting.


    He even snapped at Sophia for trying to ask what happened.


    Jay gave me a helpless look. Sophia gave me a raised brow.


    13:35


    4:


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    I leaned into my seat, staring at nothing.


    I was too tired to care.


    Eventually, Sophia moved beside me, whispering just loud enough for me to hear.


    “Okay. Spill. What happened?”


    I hesitated. Then sighed. “Kelvin kissed me.”


    Her eyes widened. “Wait…what?”


    “I stopped it. I didn’t feel anything,” I said quickly. “But Liam saw.”


    Sophia’s shoulders dropped, and she let out a groan. “Oh, Emily…”


    “I didn’t do anything wrong,” I said, more to myself than her.


    “I know. But still… this is messy.


    “Tell me about it.”


    <i>“1 </i>


    She didn’t respond. Just gave me a knowing look and patted my knee before returning to her


    seat.


    I closed my eyes, hoping the world would pause. Just long enough for me to breathe. When wended in L.A., the mood hadn’t improved. Liam walked off ahead of everyone without saying a word. His driver was already waiting. He didn’t wait for goodbyes.


    Sophia and Jay exchanged a look as we followed behind. They helped me with my luggage and insisted on dropping me off.


    As we pulled up in front of my building, Sophia turned around to face me.


    “You should try to talk to him.”


    I blinked. “Talk to Liam?”


    Jay nodded. “Clear the air. He’s been walking around like someone stole his dog.”


    I gave a dryugh. “We’re not even dating.”


    Both of them rolled their eyes in perfect sync.


    13:35


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    Sophia leaned forward. “Emily… you really think this is aboutbels?”


    Jay added, “Liam’s not the jealous type. He doesn’t even do rtionships. But with you? He’s already in it, he just doesn’t know how to say it out loud.”


    I opened the door slowly.


    “I don’t know if I’m ready,” I said.


    Sophia smiled. “Maybe not. But don’t wait until it’s toote.”


    I stepped out, dragging my bag behind me.


    Behind the tinted windows, they watched me for a second before the car drove away.


    And I stood there, at the curb, wondering when everything got soplicated… and why, even now, part of me still wanted to run back to him.


    It had been three days since we got back to L.A. Three long, dragging, miserable days. And I hadn’t been the same.


    I’d tried everything to keep myself sane. Morning runs that left me breathless. Solo dates where I dressed up just to sit alone in a restaurant booth, pretending the silence beside me was someone else’s voice. Late night walks through parks, watching strangersugh and argue, just to convince myself the world was still spinning.


    I kept moving, thinking if I kept my body busy, my mind would fall in line.


    It didn’t.


    Liam stayed lodged in my chest like a splinter I couldn’t dig out.


    The worst part? We weren’t even dating. Not officially. Not by any normal standard. But the silence between us felt worse than a lover’s fight. At least lovers fight because they care. Liam’s silence? That burned. It scorched every minute of every day with questions he wouldn’t answer.


    Monday came and went, and I didn’t show up at his house to cook.


    Highly unprofessional. I knew that. But professionalism blurred the day he kissed me in a club restroom like I belonged to him, then pulled back like I was nothing. I wanted to provoke him. To force him to feel something. Anything. Even anger would’ve been better than this quiet rejection.


    13:35


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