But the words never came. They trembled at the edge of his throat, too afraid to fall.
What if saying it ruined everything?
What if she felt awkward — betrayed by the affection she never asked for?
What if, by wanting more, he lost her completely?
The wind carried the silence between them — soft, lingering, and full of everything he couldn't say.
The thought hollowed him out. People always said it was safer to stay friends — that friends might not have everything, but at least they didn't risk losing it. Sabi nga nila, 'mas mabuti na ang kunti kaysa wala'. So Ethan stayed still. He laughed when he wanted to confess. He smiled when his chest ached watching her talk to someone else. He told himself that sitting beside her like this — close enough to touch, but not quite — was enough. He told himself not to risk it, because losing her would mean losing everything. And yet, deep down, he thought she might feel the same — the glances, the pauses, the almosts.
Years passed, and after graduation, life slowly pulled them apart — different paths, different dreams, different priorities.
Mira met someone — an older guy, charming and confident, the kind of person who made her feel seen at first. Ethan told himself he was happy for her. Or at least, he tried to be. If Mira was smiling, then he had no right to interfere. So he buried his feelings deep and learned to love her quietly, from afar.
But her smile began to fade. The laughter that once filled her voice turned brittle, uncertain. The man who once made her feel wanted became controlling, harsh — manipulative. Slowly, Mira lost the light that made her her.
She stopped painting. She stopped laughing. And she started pretending.
Every time Ethan came across a photo of her online — that practiced smile, that faraway look in her eyes — something in him tightened. He would stare a little too long, wondering if she was really as happy as she seemed. Eventually, he couldn't help himself. He reached out, asked to see her, to talk face to face.
When they met, she acted the same way she always did — polite, warm, composed. She told him she was fine, that life just had its ups and downs, that she was happy, really. But Ethan could tell. There was a hesitation in her voice, a flicker in her eyes that gave her away.
Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his chest — that quiet, uneasy heaviness that told him she was only pretending.
Still, he forced himself to believe her. He told himself thathes overthinking, if she said she was happy, then she must be, there is no reason for her to lie to him. 'right?.''
But the truth — she wasn't — and she would break something inside him he wasn't sure he could ever put back together.