CHEATER SEPARATION (Williamest AU)

For one whole year, Est thought what they had was the kind of love that stays-the kind that doesn't fade, doesn't drift, doesn't leave you shivering in the quiet when the person you love is right there but feels miles away. When they first started dating, everything felt soft, bright, and perfect, just like the kind of romance you read about in books. William would hold his hand without hesitation, press gentle kisses to his forehead when he was tired, listen to every little thing he rambled about, and make Est feel like he was the only person in the world that mattered. They had late-night talks that stretched until sunrise, shared meals that tasted sweeter just because they were eating together, walked under streetlights with their fingers laced tight, and promised each other that nothing would ever come between them. Est used to think that this was it-this was the love he would keep for a lifetime, steady and true, never wavering, never fading.

But slowly, so slowly that Est almost didn't notice at first, the warmth began to slip away. William started coming home later and later, with vague excuses that got shorter and thinner every time: work got busy, a friend needed help, traffic was terrible. He stopped reaching for Est's hand when they walked side by side, stopped staying up late to talk, stopped looking at him with that soft, glowing gaze that used to make Est's heart race. When Est tried to lean in for a kiss, William would turn his head away or offer a quick, empty peck that felt like nothing more than a duty, not love. He spent more time glued to his phone, screen turned away so Est couldn't see the messages, smiling at the screen in a way he hadn't smiled at Est in months. The silence in their small apartment grew heavier every night, thick and suffocating, filling the spaces where laughter and quiet whispers used to live.