The office was alive tonight, all sparkling lights, laughter, and chatter. It was the annual party everyone dressed up, glasses clinking, small talk floating in the air. I felt nervous, the kind of tight, restless feeling that always settled in my chest when crowds got loud.

Rylan was by my side, looking impossibly put together in his suit. My heart wanted to soar at the sight of him, but I felt a shadow creeping in a memory, a warning, something I couldn’t name.

Then his mother appeared. She smiled, all bright and practiced, but the words she said cut through me like ice.

“Rylan, you need to stay away from him,” she said firmly. “It’s not right. He’s not… suitable for you.”

My stomach dropped. My hands went cold. The way she said it, the certainty in her voice, felt like a wall slamming into my chest.

Rylan froze, jaw tight. “Mom… I ”

“I don’t care,” she interrupted, voice sharp. “You promised, Rylan. You’ll stay away. It’s for the best. For everyone.”

He glanced at me, eyes full of emotion anger, hurt, and something more dangerous. I wanted to reach for him, to tell him it was okay, but I couldn’t move. My chest hurt in ways words couldn’t fix.

Before I could even process, Felix appeared, somehow sensing the tension. He slid an arm around my waist, warm and steady, guiding me gently toward the exit.

“Kai, come on,” he said softly. “Let’s get out of here.”

I didn’t argue. I followed, but the moment I stepped away, I felt a fracture in my chest the part of me that belonged to Rylan, the part that wanted him to fight, to hold me close, to say it didn’t matter.

In the car, Felix squeezed my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I shook my head, hiding the tears threatening to spill. “I… I can’t. Not now.”

He nodded, eyes gentle but guarded. “We’ll figure it out. I’ve got you.”

At the apartment, he made it clear. “Kai, let’s just… take it easy. I’m here for you. You don’t have to think about him tonight.”

“I know,” I whispered, but my heart ached. Felix’s warmth, his care, it helped but it couldn’t replace the void Rylan had left.

“I don’t care what anyone says,” Felix murmured, voice low. “You’re with me tonight. Let me be with you.”

I nodded silently. I let him hold me, let him comfort me. And yet, in the quiet of that apartment, in the safety of his arms, I couldn’t stop thinking about Rylan the ache, the longing, the silent promise that I had never wanted to leave him.

Felix didn’t know. Couldn’t know. And I didn’t have the strength to tell him. So I let the warmth of his arms soothe the heartbreak Rylan had left behind.

But my heart the part that belonged to Rylan was still breaking.

                 The apartment was quiet, but my chest wasn’t. Felix had left for a short errand, and the silence stretched around me like a weight. I sank onto the couch, staring at the floor, trying to make sense of everything Rylan’s mother, the party, the ache in my chest that didn’t fade even with Felix’s comforting arms.

I should have felt relief. I was safe here, with Felix, with someone who genuinely cared. But all I felt was the hollow pull toward Rylan.

My phone buzzed. A message from Rylan. I didn’t open it immediately. My fingers hovered. He probably won’t understand why I didn’t stay at the party… or maybe he does.

The words didn’t come. Not yet. Not while Felix had been the one holding me, soothing me, telling me it would be okay.

And I hated myself for feeling torn.

When Felix returned, bright and cheerful, he didn’t notice the tension in my jaw. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders again, steady and warm. “How are you now?” he asked softly.

I shrugged, forcing a smile. “Better… I guess.”

“Better?” His brow furrowed. “You still feel it, don’t you? The party… her words?”

I nodded, looking away. “Yeah. It… hurt.”

Felix’s hand squeezed mine gently. “Kai… you don’t have to go back there. Not for anyone. Not even Rylan, relax.”

I wanted to argue, to say that I needed to go back, that part of me still belonged to him. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I leaned into Felix, letting his warmth anchor me.

Meanwhile, I knew Rylan was somewhere, probably pacing, probably watching, probably jealous without daring to say it. I felt the tug of guilt for leaning on Felix, for feeling comforted by him, for letting myself forget the ache that Rylan had left in me.

“Hey,” Felix murmured, resting his forehead gently against mine. “I know he matters to you. But right now… I’m here. Let me be here.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I know,” I whispered, voice trembling. “I just… I don’t know what to do with it all.”

Felix kissed the top of my head, soft, grounding. “You’ll figure it out. Together, we’ll figure it out.”

But even as I closed my eyes, letting his presence soothe me, a part of me whispered Rylan’s name.

The fracture in my heart hadn’t healed. It hadn’t even begun.

And I wasn’t sure it ever would.