Too Late to Love You

The autumn breeze brushed softly against my cheeks, carrying away the golden leaves dancing beneath our feet.

"Do you regret loving him?"

I watched another leaf drift down from the tree above us before a small smile found its way onto my lips.

"No."

"Then why are you crying?"

I lowered my gaze to my trembling hands, letting out a quiet laugh that sounded more painful than amused.

"Because loving someone and having someone love you back are two different things."

Silence settled between us, gentle and suffocating all at once.

"I'm sorry."

I glanced at her, amused despite the tears slipping down my cheeks.

"For what?"

"Taking him away."

For a moment, I simply smiled.

Softly.

Sadly.

Beautifully.

Then I looked up at the sky, blinking away the tears.

"You can't take away someone who was never mine."

___________________________________________

Rosalie never thought loving someone would be this quiet.

For years, she stayed by Julian's side as his best friend, collecting small moments, unfinished conversations, and feelings she never had the courage to confess. She always believed there was still time. Time to tell him. Time to be brave. Time to become the girl he would finally see.

Then Iris transferred into their final year of university.

She was kind, bright, and impossible to hate. Before Rosalie could gather the courage to speak, Julian had already fallen in love with someone else.

But while Rosalie struggles to let go of a love she never confessed, someone else has been quietly watching her.

A yellow rose appears where no one should have been. A shadow vanishes before she can recognize it. Small moments begin to feel less like coincidences and more like carefully planned reminders that she is never truly alone.

Some stories are about first loves.

This story is about being too late.

About waiting too long.

And about the terrifying truth that sometimes...

the person who notices you the most is the one you never notice at all.