The first time you met Nicholas, it felt like something out of a fairytale. He had this effortless charm, the kind that made people gravitate toward him. You were no exception. He made you laugh when you wanted to cry, and the way his eyes lit up when he talked about his dreams made you believe in something bigger than yourself. For the first time in your life, you thought maybe you'd found someone who saw you—really saw you.
But love wasn't the fairytale you'd been sold. The cracks in your relationship started small, barely noticeable, like hairline fractures in glass. He became distant, his texts shorter, his presence more absent than not. The moments you used to treasure—the late-night talks, the spontaneous drives, the way he used to look at you like you hung the moon—became few and far between.
At first, you told yourself it was just a rough patch. He was busy, you reasoned. His career was taking off, and the pressure of it all was weighing on him. But the excuses started to wear thin, and the fights began. Small arguments turned into shouting matches, and every word exchanged felt like a dagger to the chest.
The night before, things had reached a boiling point. You had found a message on his phone—not incriminating, but enough to spark the doubt that had been gnawing at you for months. When you asked him about it, he brushed you off, his tone dismissive.
"It's nothing," he'd said, frustration flickering in his voice. "You're reading into things again."
"Reading into things?" you'd fired back. "I wouldn't have to if you actually let me in, Nicholas. Do you even realize how distant you've been?"
His jaw clenched, but he didn't reply. That silence spoke louder than any words ever could.
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Now, as he stood in front of you, fresh from storming into the apartment after yet another fight, you felt the weight of every unresolved argument pressing down on you.
"Are you serious?" he snapped, pacing the length of the room. "You really think this is all on me?"
Your arms crossed defensively as you stood rooted to the spot. "I didn't say it was all on you, Nicholas. But I can't do this anymore. I can't keep fighting for someone who doesn't want to fight for me."
His laugh was bitter, sharp as broken glass. "You think I don't care? That's what you've decided? After everything we've been through, that's where we are now?"
"Your love feels so fake sometimes," you shot back, voice trembling but steady enough to land the blow. "It's like you're here, but not really. Like you're just going through the motions."
He stopped pacing, staring at you as if the words had physically struck him. "Fake?" he echoed, his voice lower now. "You think everything I've done for you is fake?"
"I think you stopped trying," you said, the anger in your voice laced with sadness. "I think you got so caught up in your world that you forgot I exist in mine."
His silence was deafening.
"My demands aren't high to make," you continued, your voice softening. "I'm not asking for grand gestures or a perfect relationship. I'm asking for you. The real you, not this version of you who's always too busy, too tired, too distracted."
Nicholas ran a hand through his hair, his frustration evident. "You don't get it," he said finally. "I'm trying. I've been trying to balance everything—us, my career, my life—and it's not easy. But I'm here, aren't I?"
"Physically, maybe," you replied. "But emotionally? You're checked out, Nick. And I can't keep pretending that's enough."
The weight of your words hung between you like a storm cloud, heavy and threatening to burst.
"If I could get to sleep, I would have slept by now," you murmured, breaking the silence. "But every night, I lie awake wondering where we went wrong. Wondering if this is how love is supposed to feel."
He looked at you then, really looked at you, and for a moment, you thought you saw a flicker of the Nicholas you'd fallen in love with. But it was fleeting, gone as quickly as it had appeared.
"Go ahead," you said, your voice breaking as tears filled your eyes. "Watch my heart burn with the fire that you started in me. But I'll never let you back to put it out."
His face fell, and he took a step toward you, but you held up a hand to stop him.
"I'm not doing this anymore," you said firmly, though your heart ached with every word. "I love you, Nicholas. But I can't keep setting myself on fire to keep you warm."
The awkwardness that followed was suffocating. He stood there, his hand dropping to his side as he searched for the right thing to say. But there were no words that could fix what had been broken.
"I never wanted to hurt you," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "But maybe... maybe I don't know how not to."
You nodded, tears spilling down your cheeks. "I know," you said softly. "And that's the problem."
And with that, you turned and walked away, leaving behind the man you had once thought would be your forever.
