Atasha's POV
I sat by the window that night, hugging my knees, watching raindrops race each other down the glass. Antonio's words echoed in my mind—not just the ones he spoke today, but all the ones he hadn't said when I needed them most. His truth had arrived late, wrapped in sincerity and regret, but still... late.
When he told me about his ex, I felt my chest tighten. The question had been clawing at me since the beginning. If he truly had feelings for me, why did he choose her back then? Why wasn't I enough to make him stay?
But hearing his side—his confusion, the return of someone familiar in the midst of falling for someone new—didn't exactly make it right, but it made it… human. Painfully human.
And that's what scared me the most.
Because loving someone means accepting their flaws, but trusting someone who broke you once? That's where the heart pauses, afraid to fall all over again.
Still, a part of me—soft, small, and stubborn—longed to believe that people can change. That the same heart that shattered me once was now learning how to hold me right.
I wiped the tear that slipped down my cheek and whispered to the quiet room, "Just don't break me again."
Next day,
I looked at him, eyes softening despite the whirlwind he had caused in my heart. Antonio stood there, shoulders stiff as though waiting for a storm to break over him. But I wasn't here to rage—I was here for the truth. And more than that, I was here for clarity... maybe even for closure, or whatever came next.
"You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything, Antonio," I said quietly, cutting through the thick silence between us. "Even if it hurts. I'd rather know the truth than live with half stories."
His eyes searched mine—relief flickered there, mixed with guilt. "Then I'll tell you everything. I chose my ex back then because I thought I was supposed to. We had history, and when she came back, it felt like I owed it to that past. But it never felt right. Not like with you."
I nodded slowly, letting his words settle in. "It hurt, Antonio. It really did. But if we're going to start anything again—whatever that may be—then let's make it honest this time. No more hiding. Be comfortable. Be yourself. That's all I ask."
He took a breath, shoulders lowering. "Then I want to start over, Atasha. No games. No fear. Just… us."
A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. "Then let's begin—with who we are now, not who we were."
He held out his hand, hesitant, and I placed mine in his—not as a promise, but as a first step.