Adrian had imagined the city would feel like adventure. Neon skylines, streets buzzing with possibility, the hum of ambition in every corner. And it was, in the beginning. He buried himself in work, chasing deadlines and opportunities, telling himself he was building a future for him and Maya.
But late at night, when the world went quiet, the city felt like a cage. Success filled his bank account but emptied his heart. He would scroll through his phone, staring at old photos of Maya laughing in the rain, hair tangled, eyes alive. Sometimes he drafted a message just to tell her he missed her - but by the time he finished typing, it was 3 a.m. back home, and he deleted it.
Their calls grew shorter. Her voice still warmed him, but he heard something behind it - a tiredness, a hesitation he didn't know how to name. He told himself she was strong, that she understood. But doubt slithered in. Was she still waiting for him? Did he even deserve for her to?
One evening, after a long day, Adrian passed a café where couples sat together, hands touching across tables. The ache in his chest nearly dropped him to his knees. He hadn't touched Maya's hand in months. He hadn't smelled her hair, heard her laughter up close, or kissed the corner of her mouth the way she liked.
That night, he dug through his suitcase and found the photograph she had tucked inside his bag before he left. Her handwriting was on the back: Don't forget where home is.
He pressed the photo to his chest, whispering into the empty room, "I haven't forgotten, Maya. I swear I haven't."
But when his phone buzzed with a new message, it wasn't her name that appeared. It was a colleague, asking if he wanted to grab dinner. He stared at it too long, the silence of his apartment pressing in.
For the first time, Adrian wondered if his loneliness would betray him.
✨ This chapter gives us: