After We Loved

They were never supposed to fall in love with each other.

She met her first.

A friendship born from a shared love of stories became something deeper over the years-three years of late-night conversations, laughter, secrets, and a bond neither of them expected to become so important.

Then he appeared.

A stranger from across the world who became a friend, then a crush, then something neither of them could pretend was innocent anymore.

Three people.
Three hearts.
One relationship.

For a while, it worked.

Until it didn't.

She realized she couldn't give them the kind of love they needed. He realized his heart had chosen one of them more deeply than the other. And the three of them were forced to confront a truth none of them wanted to admit:

Sometimes loving someone isn't enough to make a relationship work.

Now the relationship is over.

But the friendship remains.

She still loves the woman who was once her partner and is now her best friend. She still loves the man who was never supposed to become the center of her heart. They still talk. They still laugh. They still remember the things no one else knows.

And sometimes, when he speaks, she forgets they're supposed to be only friends.

Because the hardest part about losing someone isn't always losing them.

Sometimes, it's having to keep loving them when you know you can't keep them.