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    Liam’s POV

    I stood in front of the house, staring at Emily’s face, still standing a few steps away. That face had once

    bfelt /bso close, bso /bfamiliar, bso /bwrong.

    I took a deep breath, trying to keep my voice from sounding distorted. “Why didn’t byou /btell me you wereing home?” I finally asked, tly, though something inside me was gnawing bat /bbmy /bstomach.

    Emily smiled faintly, a smile that once made me stop thinking. “I wanted to surprise byou/b,” she replied lightly, but her eyes couldn’t hide the unease. “But it seems I’m the one who’s getting a surprise from byou/bb, /b

    Liam.”

    I looked down briefly, closed my eyes for a split second, then looked back at her. Behind Emily’s gazeb, /bI could see something I once considered home but now felt foreign.

    “What Noah said was true?” Emily asked then, her voice low but clear. “Are you guys getting back

    together?”

    The question stuck like a nail. I wanted to avoid it. I wanted to run, I wanted to stay silent. But all that came out of my mouth was a long, heavy sigh, and then I nodded slowly.

    I could feel Emily’s body stiffen immediately after my nod. Her gaze was piercing, her eyes trembling as if something had copsed inside her. For a few seconds, no words came out of her mouth, only silence hanging in the cold night air. The wind gently blew strands of her hair out of its neat bun, making her face look even more fragile than usual.

    I stood stiffly, trying to calm the pounding pulse in my temples. Saying that nod hadn’t been easy. It was a kind of boundary, acknowledging something I wasn’t entirely sure about, but also something I couldn’t take back. It was like marking a different path from the past, that I was no longer in the same ce as

    Emily.

    Emily finally took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders. “So, what was all this we’ve been through, everything we’ve talked about, Liam?” Her voice trembled, but she tried to sound strong.

    I looked down again, my hands clenched at my sides. The question hit me, because I knew I’d given space, had nted hopes I shouldn’t have allowed to grow. I was too cowardly to call it all a mistake, but I also couldn’t think of it as the right path anymore.

    “Emily,” I said softly, finally looking up at her. “What we went through was real. I’ll never say it was a lie. But bI /balso can’t keep pretending my heart is still in the same ce.”

    Her face tensed, her eyes welling with tearsb, /bthough she fought hard to keep them from falling. bI /bcould see her lips trembling, swallowing the words that threatened to burst.

    Emily folded her arms, as if seeking protection from something she couldn’t fight. “I never asked for

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    more, Liam. I just thought you needed me. I thought I was enough.”

    The words hit me hard. Because there had been times I’d felt that way. When the house was empty and Sienna was far away, bI /bneeded someone, and Emily was there. But what I experienced with Emily was only a temporary patch, never truly filling the void.

    I shook my head slowly. “You were always enough. The problem was that I was never truly honest with myselfb./bb” /b

    There was silence again. The porch light shone on Emily’s face, making her wet eyes even more visible. Finally, she smiled sadly, a smile I’d never seen from her before. “So this is the end, huh?”

    I took a long, heavy breath, then nodded once more. There were no sweet words, no promises to remain friends or anything. Just a silent acknowledgement that our path had indeed ended here.

    Emily immediately red at me, angry and disappointed. She took a step forward and hit my chest lightly, not painfully, but enough to make my breath hitch.

    “You’re evil,” she said, her voice trembling. “You’re evil, Liam.”

    I restrained myself from responding emotionally. I simply stood there, absorbing the blow, epting the

    anger that was honestly justified.

    Emily took a step back, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. “I stepped away to give you time to think

    more clearly, not to make you act like this. This wasn’t the answer I was expecting.”

    I stared at her for a long moment. I knew, deep down, she probably still believed I woulde back to her,

    that the distance was temporary, that what I had with Sienna was over.

    “Emily,b” /bmy voice was soft, almost a whisper in the still night. “I’m sorry.”

    Sheughed dryly, wiping away the tears that were starting to fall. “Apologize?” she repeated bitterly. “Is

    that all you have to say after everything? After what we’ve been through? After you yourself said you

    couldn’t go back to Sienna?!”

    I took a deep breath and straightened up. “If you want to stay overnight, go ahead,” I finally said, heavily.”

    But you can’t stay here long.”

    Emily paused, then her face turned red with anger. “You’re being indecisive, Liam!” she snapped, her voice cracking this time. “Weren’t you the one who said you hated Sienna? You were the one who was angry, the one who was disappointed, the one who said your heart never belonged to her! So why are you

    going back to her nowb?!/bb” /b

    I clenched my fists, not because I wanted to retaliate, but because my own feelings were in turmoil. I shook my head slowly, trying to hold myself back, but the words finally came out, sharper than I intended.

    I stared at Emily, her broken voice still ringing in my ears. Her anger was like a wave that pped me

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    hard, making my chest tighten. I knew every word she uttered was born from hurt, but it was still hard for me to ept without feeling torn apart.

    b“/bbI /bdid say that,” I finally spoke, quietly but firmly. “I was angry, disappointed. I felt like Sienna didn’t deserve to be in my life anymore. Back then, you were there. You listened to me, you kept me from falling

    apart. I’ll never forget that, Emily.”

    Emily red at me, tears falling again even though her face was red with anger. “But now you’re saying it was all just anger? Temporary pain?” Her voice trembled, her tone full of usation. “You’re so cruel,

    Liam.”

    I took a deep breath. “I’m not saying my feelings for you are a lie. Never. But what I feel for Sienna isn’t

    something I can hide forever. I can’t pretend, Emily. I’ve lived pretending for too long.”

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