Defy: Taennie Special

- 9

Cielle stood in the rain, her heart pounding against her ribs. Koen remained silent, his gaze fixed on her, the rain soaking through his clothes. The storm above seemed to echo the turmoil below.

Cielle took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but the words came out in a stutter. "Koen, I—I didn't expect you here. It's not what it looks like. Lucian and I were just—"

Koen cut her off with a harsh laugh, the sound sharp and bitter. "Oh, really? So this is just a casual outing? A 'just friends' kind of thing?"

Cielle looked down, trying to avoid his piercing gaze. "It's not like that. We were just—"

"Just what?" Koen's sarcasm dripped with every word. "Just having fun? Because from where I'm standing, it looks pretty serious."

Cielle's face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger. "Koen, you don't understand. We were just—"

"Just what?" Koen interrupted again, stepping closer, his voice low and mocking. "You don't need to explain yourself. I can see exactly what's happening."

Cielle clenched her fists at her sides, trying to hold back her tears. "You don't know the whole story."

Koen's expression hardened. "Maybe it's about compatibility, the vibe you and he share. And maybe, just maybe, you and I aren't meant to be."

The weight of his words hit Cielle like a slap. She took a shaky step back, her voice trembling. "So, what are you saying?"

Koen's eyes softened for a moment, but his voice remained cold. "I'm saying that seeing you with someone else made me realize something. Maybe we're not as right for each other as I thought."

Cielle's heart sank. She had hoped for a resolution, some clarity, but instead, she was left with the bitter taste of reality. "I thought you wanted us to be together."

Koen shook his head, a sad smile playing on his lips. "Maybe I did. But seeing you with him made me question everything. It's clear that things have changed."

Cielle's tears finally fell, mingling with the rain. "So, what now?"

Koen's voice was softer but still distant. "I don't know. Maybe it's time for us to focus on our own phase. Your studies, my career... just like how it used be."

The pain made Cielle too stunned to speak.

Koen took one last look at her, then turned and walked away, disappearing into the rain. Cielle stood there, soaked and alone. The rain continued to fall, masking her tears as she tried to come to terms with the end of what she had hoped would be a future with Koen.

Koen stumbled through his front door, his heart still pounding from the confrontation with Cielle. The rain had drenched him to the bone, and the cold only seemed to amplify the storm inside him. He threw his wet jacket onto a chair and headed straight for the kitchen. He needed something to numb the pain, to drown out the turbulent thoughts that seemed to echo endlessly in his mind.

He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet and poured a generous amount into a glass, his hands shaking slightly as he took the first sip. The burn of the alcohol was a welcome distraction, a temporary escape from the whirlwind of emotions that had taken over him.

As he drank, Koen found himself sinking deeper into his despair. He sat on the couch, the dim light of his living room casting long shadows across the walls. He took another swig from the bottle, laughing hollowly to himself, the sound echoing off the empty space. It was a bitter, cynical laugh, tinged with the remnants of hope and heartbreak.

He leaned back, staring blankly at the ceiling, the alcohol slowly taking its toll. His mind wandered back to Cielle and Lucian, the way they had looked together—so young, so carefree. It gnawed at him. He had always prided himself on being in control, on having everything figured out. But now, faced with the stark reality of their relationship, he felt utterly lost.

"Maybe I cared too much," he muttered to himself, his voice slurring slightly. He took another long drink, feeling the warmth spread through his body. "Maybe I expected too much from someone so much younger whose perspective is far different from mine."

He laughed again, this time more desperately. The thought of himself compared to Lucian seemed almost comical in his drunken state. Lucian was the son of his boss, someone who could probably have anything handed to him on a silver platter. And here was Koen, a man who had fought tooth and nail to get where he was, grappling with the harsh realization that his efforts might not be enough.

"Who am I compared to him?" Koen asked the empty room, his voice breaking.

He took another swig, the alcohol now taking full effect. His laughter turned into sobs, and he buried his face in his hands, tears mixing with the whiskey on his shirt. "Why did I think I could make this work?"

The room spun slightly as Koen's emotions poured out, raw and unfiltered. He was both laughing and crying, the duality of his feelings almost too much to bear. The man who was once so composed, so calculated, was now unraveling before his own eyes.

He questioned aloud, his voice cracking. "What did I expect? That she'd be okay with the way I live my life? That she wouldn't want someone closer to her own age, who can relate to her world?"

Koen slammed his glass down on the table, frustration evident in his every movement. "I thought I was doing the right thing, trying to make it work. But maybe I was just fooling myself. Maybe I wanted it to work so badly that I ignored all the signs."

He sighed heavily, his head dropping into his hands. "Is this what it means to be out of touch with reality? To want something so badly that you blind yourself to the truth? I thought I could bridge the gap between us, but maybe it's just too wide."

As the night wore on, Koen's sobs subsided into a heavy, broken silence. He slumped against the couch, the bottle of whiskey lying beside him. He stared at the empty glass, his thoughts a tangled mess of regret and sorrow. The alcohol had dulled the edges of his pain but had done little to erase the deeper issues he faced.

In the quiet of his living room, Koen grappled with the painful truth that maybe, just maybe, he had been too invested in a feeling that wasn't built to last. The realization left him feeling hollow and defeated, and as he drifted into a restless sleep, the uncertainty of what lay ahead loomed large in his mind.