Loving a Black Rose

Chapter 7: The End of the Beginning

I entered the building, took the elevator, and pressed the button for the 12th floor. The doors opened. Cautiously, I made my way out of the elevator. Long blue hallways stretched ahead, mirrors lining both sides, reflecting me infinitely. I saw the white door and approached it, feeling a bowling ball settle in my stomach. The journey to the white door felt infinite. I was petrified. With great effort, I lifted my arm, feeling its weight throughout, and knocked twice.

The white door opened.

I couldn't answer. I couldn't even look into her eyes. I had to tell her. I couldn't be weak anymore.

— "Ian, I am so sorry," a voice said, and I heard a faint sob. It was almost like a touch, the voice caressing me. "I'm going to explain everything now, everything, Ian. I promise you. Everything will go back to normal."

A silence began to settle around us. I had to look, but I couldn't. The words I had to say— they burned my throat, but I couldn't speak them. I remembered the times we were under the tree, her laughter still in the air, as if the world didn't matter. But those memories felt distant now, swallowed by the shadows of what once was. George's words echoed in my mind— She's just a girl, nothing more. He couldn't support me anymore.

— "Stop it," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Stop it," I repeated, this time shouting, shoving her hand away.

There was a long pause. The air around me thickened. Her presence felt like it was fading, evaporating, as if she were becoming more and more distant with each passing moment.

— "I cheated on you," I screamed, unable to look.

The silence continued. I imagined her standing there, frozen, trying to back away.

— "I don't even know why we're still together," I continued. "I guess horrible people are meant to stay together. I know I'll never be worthy of you. But I won't apologize. All my life, I've been trampled on, used, broken—cast aside like I was nothing. And that's all I am. Nothing. You, on the other hand... you've always been perfect, haven't you? Always shining, untouchable, while I'm buried in the dirt, desperately trying to hold myself together. Do you enjoy humiliating me? Was that part of the thrill? I'm not even surprised you cheated. Maybe it was the only way for you to feel something—anything. To feel alive, to feel powerful, while I'm drowning in this mess. Maybe this was all you needed—a way to prove you could still hurt me, even when I'm already broken. I've tried for so long to make it work, but now I see the truth. There's nothing left between us. This was never real. It was a dream—one I had to wake up from. And now, it's just a nightmare. I'm done. I'm breaking up with you."

— "Ian, I've sacrificed so much for you," the voice replied, calm yet defiant. "But now I've come to understand something. When you truly love someone, you fight for them. I've done everything I could, given all of myself, and I'm fed up. But in the end, I see that you lack the courage to fight for the people you claim to love. You can't even look me in the eyes."

And I looked. I looked at her in a way I never had before. Her eyes were red, but the tears had stopped. Her gaze was unwavering, the green in her eyes somehow sharper, more vibrant than I remembered. All I wanted was to kiss her, to take back everything that had shattered between us. I had to tell her that I was going to fight for her because I loved her. But then I heard his aunt's boyfriend's voice, as if he were right there, murmuring in my ear: — "Too much of a failure, too afraid to ever stand up for anything that matters." I looked at her, tears slipping down my cheeks, and in that silent gaze, she seemed to understand the words I could never speak.

For a fleeting moment, I saw the words she wanted to speak, but they never came. Instead, she fell silent, turned away, and walked toward the door. As she closed it softly behind her, she paused, her eyes meeting mine one last time. She gazed at me with those same green eyes I had once loved.