When Love Break Ties

Chapter 38: The Emotional Goodbye

Nathan stood outside Abby's apartment building, his heart pounding in his chest. He wasn't sure if it was the cold breeze sweeping through the Tokyo streets or the gravity of what he was about to do that sent a chill down his spine. Tonight was the night. After days of agonizing over his decision, the moment had finally come. He was leaving. And with it, he knew that this would be the night he would say goodbye to Abby, perhaps for the last time.

As he approached the entrance, Nathan felt the familiar tug of doubt creeping into his mind. He could still turn back. He could still walk away from this painful moment, delay it for just one more day. But deep down, he knew it wouldn't change anything. The cracks in their relationship had grown too wide, too deep to be patched over with more time. He needed to leave—both for himself and for his family. Staying here with Abby meant continuing down a path of uncertainty, one where he was slowly losing sight of who he really was.

He buzzed Abby's apartment and waited. The seconds stretched into an eternity as he stood there, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, trying to steady his breathing. Finally, he heard the familiar click of the door unlocking. He pushed it open and made his way up the stairs.

Abby was standing in the doorway of her apartment when Nathan arrived. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her face a mask of unreadable emotion. Nathan could see the tension in her posture, the way her body seemed to brace itself for the conversation that was about to unfold. He knew this wouldn't be easy for either of them.

"Hi," she said, her voice quiet.

"Hey," Nathan replied, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. The air between them was thick with unspoken words, both of them aware that this was more than just a regular conversation. This was a goodbye—an ending to something they had built together, but could no longer sustain.

Abby turned and walked into the living room, gesturing for Nathan to follow. He took a seat on the couch, his eyes scanning the room he had grown so familiar with over the past year. Every corner of this space held memories—both beautiful and painful. He could see the spot where they used to sit and talk for hours, planning their future, dreaming of all the places they would go together. But those dreams felt distant now, like they belonged to a different version of themselves. A version that no longer existed.

Abby sat down across from him, her eyes searching his face. "So, you're really doing it. You're leaving."

Nathan nodded, the lump in his throat making it hard to speak. "Yeah. I have to, Abby. I need to go back to Manila. My family... they need me. And I need them, too."

Abby's eyes flickered with emotion, a mixture of hurt and understanding. She had known this was coming. They both had. But that didn't make it any easier to accept.

"I just..." Abby's voice wavered, and she took a deep breath to steady herself. "I can't believe it's ending like this, Nathan. After everything we've been through, after everything we've fought for, this is how it ends?"

Nathan leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his head hanging low. "I never wanted it to end like this, Abby. You know that. But I've lost myself in this relationship. I've lost sight of who I am, and I need to find that again."

"And you think you can't do that with me?" Abby's question hung in the air, heavy with the weight of her pain. "I thought we were in this together, Nathan. I thought we were supposed to be each other's anchor."

Nathan closed his eyes, feeling the familiar ache of guilt gnawing at him. "You have been my anchor, Abby. But somewhere along the way, I started drifting. I don't even know who I am anymore. I've pushed my family away, I've distanced myself from everything that used to matter to me. I can't keep living like this."

Abby's eyes filled with tears, and she quickly wiped them away, trying to hold herself together. "So, what am I supposed to do now? Just let you go and pretend like none of this meant anything?"

"No," Nathan said softly, his voice breaking. "I'm not asking you to forget any of it. What we had—it was real. It meant everything to me. But I can't stay here and keep pretending like we're okay when we're not. We're on different paths now, Abby. And I need to go back and figure out mine."

Abby looked away, her jaw clenched as she tried to process his words. The silence between them was deafening, the weight of their unspoken emotions pressing down on them like a heavy blanket. Neither of them knew how to navigate this moment, how to say goodbye to something they had invested so much of themselves into.

"I hate this," Abby whispered, her voice trembling with the rawness of her emotions. "I hate that you're leaving. I hate that we couldn't make this work. And I hate that I still love you, even though I know it's not enough."

Nathan's heart broke at her words. He wanted to reach out, to hold her, to tell her that he loved her too. But he knew that no amount of love could change the reality of their situation. They had reached a point where love wasn't enough to bridge the gap between them.

"I love you, Abby," Nathan said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll always love you. But sometimes... sometimes love just isn't enough."

Abby shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don't want it to be over, Nathan. I don't want to lose you."

Nathan felt a tear escape his own eyes as he leaned forward, taking Abby's hands in his. "You're not losing me. We just... we need time. We need space to figure out who we are, outside of this relationship."

Abby squeezed his hands tightly, as if holding onto him for just a little while longer. "So, what now? Do we just say goodbye and walk away from everything we've built?"

Nathan's voice cracked as he spoke. "I don't know. But I do know that if we stay like this, if we keep fighting and hurting each other, we're going to destroy everything we once loved about us."

Abby let out a sob, pulling her hands away from his as she stood up and paced the room. "I don't want to say goodbye, Nathan."

"I don't either," Nathan admitted, his heart breaking all over again. "But maybe we have to, for now. Maybe we need to let go in order to find ourselves again."

Abby turned to face him, her face streaked with tears. "And what if we can't find our way back to each other? What if this really is the end?"

Nathan stood up, walking over to her. He reached out and gently wiped a tear from her cheek, his thumb lingering on her skin for just a moment longer. "If it is the end... then at least we'll know we gave it everything we had. But I need to go home, Abby. I need to find out who I am again."

Abby nodded, though her heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. "Okay," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Okay."

Nathan pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as they both cried, their tears mingling together as they clung to each other for what felt like the last time. It was a moment of raw, unfiltered emotion—a goodbye that neither of them wanted but both knew was necessary.

They stood there for what felt like hours, wrapped in each other's arms, neither of them willing to let go. But eventually, they both knew it was time. Nathan slowly pulled away, his heart heavy with the weight of their farewell.

"I'll always love you, Abby," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"And I'll always love you," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Nathan took one last look at the woman he had loved with every fiber of his being, the woman who had changed his life in ways he could never have imagined. Then, with a heavy heart, he turned and walked out the door.

As he stepped into the cold Tokyo night, Nathan felt a sense of finality settle over him. He had made his decision. And now, it was time to face the future—whatever that might hold—on his own.