Cane slumped in his chair, trying to focus on the book he was reading, but no matter how many times he read the same paragraph, he always lost focus and returned to the beginning. He became restless and set the book down, sighing as he felt he was waiting eons for a call or text, but, regarding the state she was in, he knew it would take time. Granted, it had only been a few days since the exchange, but he was growing restless as the seconds went by; she didn't know what she was doing to him. He wondered if he was in the depths of her memory, too. 

     Hidden from plain view, they had met before, but the encounter was one-sided. As he gawked at her on that fateful day, their eyes met for a split second. From then on, he couldn't get her out of his head.

      About a month ago, Cane's fiancée was planning to run away with someone else. Coming home to her things gone and a note saying "Goodbye," he wondered where he had gone wrong. Cane did nothing, then not even a full week went by until she returned with her things in hand. She immediately confessed she was cheating on him.

     Cane was at a loss for words, yet he didn't feel hurt. As he heard her story, it turned out that the man she was having an affair with had someone else, and they never planned to leave their significant other. To Cane, it looked like the man was playing around with her until he found something else to do. 

      Cane asked to see everything: text, pictures, and gifts. What stuck out to him was how much she complained about her relationship with him. How Cane had fizzled out her spark, how she was stagnant because of him, and how she couldn't leave because everyone loved him. 

     In contrast, she went on to describe how she finally met a man who showed her the thrill of life, which was enough to want to start anew with him. She was so convinced by his words that she sold all her belongings, including her car, and quit her job, thinking that would be enough to persuade the man to leave with her. It was not. Thus, with her plans shattered and having nothing left, she was compelled to return to Cane.

      She insisted she would only stay until she found her footing, but Cane still had complicated feelings for the girl and accepted her back. For some reason or another, that hollowness drew him in, and he didn't want to miss what happened.

      Within a few days, everyone knew about her affair due to her saying goodbye to her family and friends before she left. Thus, knowing she was back, an influx of messages bombarded her, condemning and even berating her for her actions. 

    On the other hand, all those around Cane lamented his state and even saw him as a saint. They saw him go in and out of his apartment, everyone giving him looks of pity and aiming condescending stares towards her. 

     It came to a point that it was too much to bear, so she sought out her parents, but even they turned their backs on her.  

     As she spent more time alone, she began to waste away. She seldom left the apartment, and it came to the point that she stopped appearing outside altogether.  A few days later, sirens were heard at the apartment complex. She was found dead with a bottle of over-the-counter medicine at her side. 

     Cane found her after coming back from work, quickly calling paramedics, but she was pronounced dead as soon as they arrived.  An investigation was conducted, but the police report read that she was distraught and ruled it a suicide. This was indicated by her text messages of her saying goodbye to the man she was having an affair and a final written letter to Cane. 

     Cane was investigated regardless, but he had an alibi; he was outside the home during the time of her supposed death. He is the one who called the ambulance, and there was no struggle or signs of abuse in sight. The police even saw how distraught Cane appeared, disheveled and without sleep; he was numb to the words of others. The officers felt sorry for him as they just stared at the broken man. The case was as good as closed.

     A few months had passed since the case was closed, and Cane decided to seek out the man who tricked his fiancée. At first, he just wanted to see something in regards to how he looked, but then he found himself stumbling into something interesting. 

     Searching the address in her text messages, he found a dingy apartment with a depressing aura, and steel stairs on the outside screaming they wanted to fall. He saw a woman with a sullen look, slowly trying to walk away from a man and a woman. The man stood between the women and begged the sullen woman to stay. The sullen woman just shook her head as she said something and again tried to walk away, but the man grabbed her arm to stop her. This infuriated the opposing woman, and she attacked the sullen woman. 

     Cane stared at the pathetic man as he just stood there, almost afraid of the violent woman, yet a smile crept through. 

     He was confused at what his fiancée saw in this man; he was quite the looker, he had to admit, but it seemed he only had eyes for the sad-looking woman, so why not help her? Cane felt like this was a crucial moment to win her back, yet he did nothing. 

     Cane felt pity for the woman being thrashed, so he called the police and brought the attention of others in the neighborhood to the spectacle. But, before anyone could help, he saw the sullen woman kick and then throw a punch so violently that you could almost swear you could see the violent woman's soul jump out of her body. This made Cane giggle as he backed away. However, as the sad woman got up, she glanced at the crowd, and for a moment, their eyes met. For that second, Cane felt something in those hollow eyes of hers as he felt she could see right down to his very marrow.  Cane instinctively took a step forward; however, the crowd began to intervene. 

     After a while, the police came. Cane saw the commotion, there was some back and forth, and finally, the violent woman was arrested. The crowd dispersed, and the pathetic man and sullen woman were left. Cane hid in an alley as he saw the woman again try to leave, but this time he didn't beg. 

     The pathetic man grabbed the woman by the arm and swung her to the rusted steel rails of the stairs, hitting her head so hard, the steel rang. She was already hurt and didn't have much balance. A small wail of pain could be heard escaping her mouth as she tried not to fall back to the ground.  You could see the regret in his eyes as the blood started to flow down her forehead and into her eyes. He held her close, trying to hide her new wound, and led her up the stairs. 

     Cane felt like his business here was done, yet he couldn't move from his spot. The man he was looking for was right in front of him, but even though it would be right to be angry or, at the very least, be agitated, he felt nothing towards the man he had just seen. His attention was now turned to that sad-looking woman, agitation now creeping as he thought of her. 

     Cane decided to stand there as he continued to think about what he was going to do next. The night dropped over the city, the clock reading 1 a.m. on the dot. Then, to his surprise, he saw her. Wavey locks flowed in the wind, her eyes sparkling under street lights, and her cheeks rosy, either due to the cold or due to the wounds that were inflicted on her. Either way, Cane found each detail adorable. She was lugging down a large carry-on when she met someone on the ground floor. She hugged and waved goodbye and then went on her way. 

     Cane decided to follow for a bit as the woman stumbled a bit, her golden bracelet breaking and falling off. Cane discreetly waited and picked it up. He was about to hand it to her, but before he could, she hailed a cab and left. 

     The next morning, Cane went into the woman's apartment building, asking about vacant rooms. The landlord explained that the building was no longer accepting tenants and was due for remodeling. "This place feels like it's about to fall, so everyone is in the process of relocating. But, when it's up and running, let me give you a call, a handsome guy like you will bring more people in", she joked as he smiled at the remark. "But, I will miss one person, I don't think she's coming back. Left in the dead of night". 

     Cane was intrigued by this remark, " Could it be the young woman who got hurt yesterday?" he asked. "You saw that, poor thing. The nicest person in the world, my Yvette, but that boyfriend is another story. She was so in love, and guess what, two-timing her. She even got a new apartment for both of them as a surprise, ready to move in, and bam. Guess she couldn't take it anymore and left him behind. The ingrate also left, I guess, no one in the room except for a few of his things".

     Cane left and went back to his apartment. What was the feeling, his heart pounding at the thought of her? Was he ready to move on? Well, he didn't miss his fiancée, and the case was already closed. He already had her in his heart after he helped to liberate her from her troubles. This way, she would never feel pain, and she would never leave him again. After much thought, he felt it was time and began to look for 'Yvette'.

     Clovis woke up from his unprecedented nap as a notification threw him awake. He looked at the number and opened the text. "Hi, it's me, Yvette. Do you mind if we meet up?".