No more chasing.
He needs to choose me.
Because we belong together.
“As much as I want to stay…” I continue, softer now, more careful, “I’ll give you some space.”
The word tastes wrong.
Bitter.
Unfamiliar.
It goes against everything I believe.
Everything I want.
Because the truth is, I need Drew more than he needs me.
Beneath the calm, always-in-control exterior is a woman desperate to be loved for who she is.
“Time for you to think about… things.” I let the sentence trail off.
I hate saying it.
I don’t like offering it.
But I do.
Because I know what it’s like to have something forced on you.
And I can’t do this to him.
Not like this.
I love him too much to stop him from leaving.
I look at him for a few minutes.
Long enough for hope to begin to fade. Wishing he’d say the words I desperately want to hear, but knowing he won’t.
Stay.
Don’t go.
We’ll figure it out.
Together.
He nods once. “Space… I think that’s for the best.”
The words land quietly. But they hit like glass shattering in a storm.
Something inside my chest tightens, sharp and sudden.
I’m not prepared for it.
I'd planned for rejection.
