I didn't say goodbye.
Not properly.
Not the way I should have.
Riya was still standing there, still looking at me like she was trying to understand something that didn't make sense, something she couldn't quite put into words—but could feel anyway.
And I didn't give her anything.
No explanation.
No reassurance.
No version of me that still belonged to her world.
Because I couldn't.
Because the moment Lucian stood beside me—
everything else faded.
Again.
"Are you coming back later?" she asked.
Her voice was softer now.
Careful.
Like she already knew the answer.
Like she just needed to hear it.
My chest tightened.
I should have said yes.
I should have smiled, brushed it off, told her I just needed some air, some time.
I should have made it sound normal.
Temporary.
Safe.
But nothing about this was.
And for the first time—
I didn't pretend.
"I don't know," I said.
The truth landed heavier than anything else I could have said.
Because it meant something.
Because it wasn't just about today.
Or tomorrow.
Or work.
It was about everything.
Riya stared at me.
Really stared.
Like she was trying to see if I was still there—
or if I had already gone somewhere she couldn't follow.
"That doesn't sound like you," she said quietly.
I didn't respond.
Because she was right.
Because I didn't feel like me anymore.
Not the version she knew.
Not the version that cared about shifts and schedules and routines.
That version felt… distant now.
Like something I had already stepped away from.
Lucian didn't say anything.
He didn't need to.
His presence alone was enough.
Enough to pull me.
Enough to anchor me.
Enough to remind me what mattered now.
And what didn't.
"You're really leaving," she said.
Not a question.
A realization.
My throat tightened slightly.
"Yes."
The word came out softer than I intended.
But it didn't waver.
It didn't break.
Because I meant it.
Because I had already decided.
And she knew it.
"This isn't just about him, is it?" she asked.
I hesitated.
Because that question—
it was harder.
More complicated.
More real.
"No," I said finally.
"It's not."
Her brows pulled together slightly. "Then what is it?"
I looked at her.
Really looked at her.
At the familiarity.
At the normalcy.
At everything that used to feel like my world.
And for a second—
just a second—
something in my chest ached.
Because I knew.
I knew I was leaving something behind.
Something simple.
Something safe.
Something I wouldn't be able to come back to the same way.
"I don't think I fit here anymore," I said quietly.
The words felt strange.
But true.
Too true.
Riya's expression shifted.
Not confusion this time.
Not curiosity.
Something else.
Something closer to concern.
"That's not how life works," she said.
"It is now."
The moment the words left my lips—
I realized.
I sounded like him.
And that—
that should have scared me.
But it didn't.
Because it felt right.
Because it made sense in a way nothing else did anymore.
"This is crazy," she whispered.
"I know."
"And you're still doing it."
"Yes."
Silence fell between us.
Heavy.
Real.
And final in a way I didn't want to fully acknowledge.
Because if I did—
it would make this harder.
And I didn't want it to be harder.
Not now.
Not when I had already chosen.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
The question hit differently.
Not because of what it meant.
But because of how it sounded.
Like she was asking if I was still me.
If I was still safe.
If I was still someone she recognized.
I didn't answer right away.
Because I didn't know how to.
Because the truth wasn't simple.
Because the truth wasn't comforting.
"I don't think 'okay' applies anymore," I said.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"That's not reassuring."
"It's not supposed to be."
There it was again.
That same shift.
That same understanding.
That same quiet acceptance of something that wasn't normal.
Wasn't safe.
Wasn't simple.
And yet—
felt inevitable.
Riya shook her head slightly, like she didn't know what to say anymore.
Like she had run out of ways to reach me.
And maybe she had.
"Be careful," she said finally.
The words were soft.
But they carried weight.
Because she meant them.
Because she knew something was wrong—
even if she didn't understand what.
"I will," I replied.
But even as I said it—
I knew.
That wasn't a promise I could keep.
Not fully.
Not in the way she meant it.
Because this—
this wasn't something you walked into carefully.
This was something you fell into.
Completely.
And I already had.
Lucian's presence shifted slightly beside me.
Not impatient.
Not restless.
Just… waiting.
Like he knew this moment mattered.
Like he was giving me the space to choose—
one last time.
And I did.
Without hesitation.
Without looking back again.
"I have to go," I said.
And this time—
I meant it differently.
Not just leaving the café.
Not just leaving her.
Leaving everything that felt like before.
Riya didn't stop me.
Didn't argue.
Didn't try to pull me back.
She just watched.
And somehow—
that made it harder.
Because it felt like she understood.
At least enough to know—
this wasn't something she could fix.
I turned.
Finally.
Fully.
Toward him.
And the moment I did—
everything else disappeared.
Like it always did.
Like it always would.
"Ready?" he asked quietly.
My heart skipped.
Not from fear.
Not anymore.
From something else.
Something deeper.
Something that felt like stepping into something I couldn't undo.
"Yes," I said.
And that was it.
That was the moment.
The one that mattered.
The one that changed everything.
Because as I walked out with him—
as the door closed behind me—
as the world I knew faded into something distant and unreachable—
I realized something that made my breath catch.
I wasn't just leaving a place.
I was leaving a version of myself behind.
And I didn't know if I would ever find her again.