sillybrini
She met him as a fan in the stands of San Jose-just another face in a sea of teal, watching a boy who skated like the world was still something he could win.
He noticed her anyway.
What begins as a quiet, accidental connection grows into something consuming: late nights, shared dreams, and a love that feels inevitable long before it feels safe. She falls for him before the world does-before the pressure, before the expectations, before hockey stops being just a game and starts becoming everything else.
They build a life in the in-between moments.
They promise forever when forever still feels simple.
They get married, believing love will be enough.
It isn't.
Told through a series of fractures disguised as memories, If I Loved You Less, I Might Have Stayed unravels a marriage one apology at a time:
Something he did.
His apology.
Her forgiveness.
The damage that never actually healed.
Because love doesn't disappear all at once-it erodes. Quietly. Repeatedly. Until the weight of what's been forgiven becomes heavier than what remains.
And when the apologies stop, it isn't because things got better-
It's because she finally learned how to live without them.