Lina didn't remember how she got home.
Her shoes were muddy. Her hair was messy from the wind. The blue gift box was still in her hands, the tiny cracked bracelet inside making a soft clink sound with every step.
Her mother asked if she was okay, but Lina only smiled and said she was tired.
She walked into her room, closed the door softly, and the moment she was alone—
She collapsed to the floor.
Silent tears first. Then shaking ones.
Then the kind of crying that steals your breath away.
Her phone lit up with old messages—
"I'll never leave you."
"You're my forever."
"Promise me you'll stay."
She pressed her hand against her chest.
It hurt. It hurt so much it felt like her heart was bruised.
---
Meanwhile – Ethan's Point of View
Ethan sat on the bench behind the school courtyard, elbows resting on his knees, head buried in his hands.
He heard the sound of Lina crying before she ran away. That sound echoed in his head like a broken record.
He hated it.
He hated himself for causing it.
But he also hated the way he felt lately—
Trapped. Guilty. Confused.
"I don't love her anymore… right?" he whispered to himself.
But a part of him knew—
He used to love her. He loved the way she believed in forever. The way she wrote his name on small sticky notes. The way she smiled like he was her whole world.
So when did he stop?
Or maybe… did he just get tired?
He didn't have an answer.
He took out his phone. No new messages.
He typed "I'm sorry" three times. Deleted all three.
Coward.
---
Back to Lina
Night came, but the pain didn't leave.
She sat at her desk, opening her scrapbook—"Our Forever."
Page after page of memories:
• Their first photo.
• Movie ticket from their first date.
• His handwriting: "Don't worry, I'll always stay."
Her tears fell on the pages, blurring the ink.
She whispered to herself, voice shaking, "Was it all a lie? Am I that easy to forget?"
Her phone buzzed. Her heart jumped.
Ethan.
"I'm sorry… Please take care of yourself."
Just that. Nothing more.
Not "I love you."
Not "I'll come back."
Just sorry.
She stared at the screen and typed slowly, fingers trembling:
"Thank you for breaking me gently."
Then she deleted it.
Instead, she turned off her phone.
---
Ethan – Alone in His Room
He lay in bed, phone in his hand, staring at Lina's unread message from earlier.
Did you eat yet? I miss you.
He shut his eyes tightly.
Memories came flooding in—her laughter, her soft voice calling his name, the way she believed in him even when he didn't believe in himself.
He felt something sharp twist inside his chest.
He wanted to message her.
He wanted to say "Let's start over."
But he didn't.
Instead, he whispered to the silence:
"I hope you hate me… It'll be easier that way."
That night, two hearts broke in two very different ways—
One still begging to stay.
The other trying to walk away.