At First Sight: A Love That Couldn't Last

Chapter 9: A Cold Goodbye

The warmth of those nights with Robin still lingered in Tiara's mind. For the past three days, she had stayed at his apartment, the world outside feeling distant and irrelevant. Their connection had deepened-more intimate, more intense-but something about Robin felt off, like there was an invisible wall between them that Tiara couldn't quite break through. They spent their time in a bubble of stolen kisses, long embraces, and whispered laughter, but a shadow loomed in the background, one that Tiara was too afraid to acknowledge.

On the third evening, as they lay wrapped up in each other on Robin's bed, the faint glow from the streetlamp outside casting soft shadows on the walls, Tiara finally mustered the courage to ask him what had been bothering her.

"Robin," she murmured, her head resting on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. "Is something going on? You've been... distant."

There was a long pause. Robin's fingers, which had been gently stroking her arm, stilled. Tiara felt the tension in his body, the way his breathing seemed to shift. He let out a slow, deliberate sigh.

"I didn't want to bring this up," he began, his voice heavy with something she couldn't quite place, "but I guess I can't avoid it any longer."

Tiara's chest tightened. She turned her head to look at him, her eyes searching his for answers.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Robin looked away, staring up at the ceiling. "My countdown has begun," he said, his tone laced with something she couldn't quite decipher-maybe resignation or fear, or perhaps both. "My parents want me to settle down. They've started looking for girls... for marriage."

His words hung in the air, a heavy silence falling over them. Tiara felt her heart drop. The intimacy they had shared over the past few days, the warmth of their connection-it all seemed to shatter in an instant, like glass hitting a cold, hard floor.

"Marriage?" Tiara whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "They're... looking for someone for you?"

Robin nodded slowly, his eyes avoiding hers. "Yeah. They've been dropping hints for months, but now they're serious. They've already started talking to a few families."

Tiara's stomach twisted. She sat up, pulling the blanket tighter around her, her mind racing. The words he had just spoken felt like a knife, twisting deep into her chest.

"So, what does that mean for us?" she asked, her voice fragile, on the verge of breaking. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer, but she had to ask.

Robin remained silent for a moment, his eyes still fixed on some point in the distance. When he finally spoke, his voice was soft, almost defeated. "I don't know, Tiara. I don't know what's going to happen. My family... they don't know about you, and I don't know if they would ever accept this."

His words sent a cold wave of reality washing over her. Tiara had known about his family's traditional values, had known that Robin was under immense pressure to follow the path they had set for him, but hearing it now, so plainly, was like a slap in the face.

"So... you're just going to marry someone else?" Tiara asked, her voice cracking, the hurt evident in every word.

Robin finally looked at her, and the sadness in his eyes was unmistakable. "I don't want to," he said, reaching out to take her hand. "You know that, right? I don't want to lose you, Tiara. But I don't know how to fight this. They've been talking about this for months, and now it's becoming real."

Tears stung Tiara's eyes. She pulled her hand away, feeling a mixture of pain and anger bubbling up inside her. "So, what? You're just going to let them decide your life for you? Without even fighting for us?"

"I'm trying to figure things out," Robin replied, his voice strained. "But it's not as simple as you think. I can't just ignore my family. They've given me everything. And now... now they're expecting me to fulfill my role."

Tiara felt a tear slide down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away, not wanting to let him see how much this was breaking her. She had thought what they had was real, thought that their love would be enough. But now, it felt like it was slipping through her fingers, like sand she couldn't hold onto.

"You should have told me," she said, her voice quiet, filled with disappointment. "You should have been honest with me instead of keeping this to yourself."

Robin sat up, running a hand through his hair, his frustration clear. "I didn't want to lose you," he admitted, his voice rough. "I was scared. Scared that if I told you, it would all fall apart."

"Well, now it feels like it already has," Tiara replied, her voice barely a whisper. The weight of his words pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

The rest of the night passed in a heavy silence. Robin didn't say much after that, and Tiara didn't have the energy to keep pressing him. She had no idea what the future held for them, or if there even was a future anymore. All she knew was that the warmth they had shared over the last few days had turned cold.

Three days later, Tiara packed her things and returned to the hostel. The moment she stepped into her room, a wave of emptiness washed over her. The conversations, the laughter, the closeness they had shared-it all felt distant now, like a fading dream.

Back in her room, she lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts consumed by Robin's words. The reality of what was happening was too painful to face, and yet, it was all she could think about. Her love for him hadn't changed, but now, the future she had once imagined seemed like it was slipping away, leaving her with nothing but the cold, hard truth.