Across the city, the atmosphere inside Randy's house was the complete opposite of Claire's quiet morning.
Voices filled every corner. Laughter overlapped with polite greetings. The clinking of cups, the low hum of adult conversations, the scent of coffee and warm food—everything felt alive, loud, and exhausting.
A family gathering.
The kind Randy never particularly enjoyed.
He stood near the staircase, half-listening to his father speaking with relatives while his mind drifted elsewhere.
Claire.
Her eyes that morning.
Calm, but distant.
Present, but guarded.
They were still together.
They always had been.
But lately, their relationship felt… strange.
Some days she leaned on him like she used to.
Other days, it felt like there was an invisible wall between them.
Close.
Then empty.
Warm.
Then unreachable.
"Randy!"
He looked up.
Diana had just arrived.
She stepped inside with her usual composed elegance, scanning the room before her gaze landed directly on him. As his cousin, she visited during gatherings often, but they were never close. Their interactions were usually short, polite, and distant.
Today, however, she walked straight toward him.
"You look tired," Diana said casually. "Didn't sleep?"
"I'm fine," Randy replied flatly.
She smiled slightly. "You always say that."
He didn't bother denying it.
Diana glanced around the living room, then tilted her head toward the hallway. "Can we talk? Somewhere quieter?"
Randy frowned faintly but followed without a word.
They stopped near the study, away from the noise of the guests. The door remained slightly open, muffling the sound of laughter outside.
Diana crossed her arms, observing him.
"You saw Claire today, didn't you?"
His expression stilled.
"Yes."
"And?" she asked.
"She knows the truth," he answered calmly. "That's all."
Diana hummed, studying his face more carefully than usual.
"You're still dating her," she said, not as a question.
"Yes."
A brief silence followed.
"But it doesn't feel the same, does it?" she added softly.
Randy's jaw tightened.
"Our relationship is none of your concern."
"Oh, relax," Diana said lightly. "I'm not judging. I'm just… informing."
His gaze sharpened slightly. "Informing me about what?"
Diana tapped her phone against her palm, pretending to think.
"I saw Claire at school yesterday."
Randy didn't react at first. "That's normal."
"She wasn't alone."
That made him look at her.
"She was with Miko," Diana continued.
Randy exhaled quietly. "They're friends."
"Yes," Diana agreed. "They are."
She paused, then added deliberately, "But they looked very close."
"They always talk," Randy replied evenly. "Especially lately."
Diana tilted her head, watching him like she was testing how far she could push.
"You really don't want to think about it, do you?"
"Think about what?"
"That when something happens, she goes to Miko first. Not you."
The words were calm, but precise.
Randy's voice remained controlled. "Claire is going through something serious. She can talk to anyone she trusts."
Diana's lips curved faintly.
"And right now, that trust doesn't seem centered on you."
Silence filled the small space.
Randy turned slightly away. "If you came here just to create assumptions, you can stop."
"I'm not assuming," Diana replied.
She unlocked her phone.
"I took this yesterday."
She held the screen out.
A photo.
Taken from a distance under the old tree behind the science building.
Claire and Miko were sitting close together. Miko's hand was holding Claire's tightly while Claire leaned slightly toward her, her expression vulnerable in a way she rarely showed in public.
Randy froze for a fraction of a second.
Then his face returned to its usual calm.
"…You took this?" he asked quietly.
"I was nearby," Diana said.
His eyes stayed on the photo longer than he intended.
Claire looked fragile.
But safe.
And that detail unsettled him more than anything else.
"They were talking," Randy said. "That's all."
Diana lowered her phone slowly.
"I like Miko," she admitted suddenly, her tone less playful now, edged with something bitter. "I've liked her for a while."
Randy blinked once, slightly surprised.
"But Miko barely notices anyone when Claire is around," Diana continued. "She looks at Claire like she's the only person there."
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
"So yes," she added softly, "maybe I am jealous."
The honesty in her voice was quiet, but real.
"I told you because I know you and Claire are together," Diana said. "Even if your relationship is… complicated."
Randy didn't respond.
Because it was true.
They were still dating.
But recently, conversations felt shorter.
Silences felt longer.
And the emotional distance came and went without warning.
Some moments, Claire looked at him like she trusted him completely.
Other moments, she looked like she was standing somewhere far away, even when he was right in front of her.
"She used to rely on you for everything," Diana continued. "Yesterday, she relied on Miko."
Randy's hand slowly clenched inside his pocket.
"You're overthinking a single moment," he said.
"Am I?" Diana asked quietly. "Or are you underestimating how much things changed after she remembered the truth?"
That sentence landed heavier than the photo.
Diana stepped back slightly.
"I'm not trying to break you two apart," she said. "But relationships don't only end when people break up."
Randy's gaze darkened slightly.
"They also become empty," she added softly. "When one person is still holding on, and the other is learning how to stand on their own."
Silence.
From the living room, laughter echoed faintly.
Diana turned toward the door, then paused.
"Oh, and Randy?"
He didn't look at her.
"If you keep protecting her without letting her choose," she said, "don't be surprised if she starts opening up more to someone who simply listens."
Then she left.
The door stayed half open.
Randy remained alone in the study.
After a long moment, he pulled out his phone and stared at Claire's contact.
No new messages.
His thumb hovered over her name.
His mind replayed the image again—Claire under the tree, holding Miko's hand, looking hurt… but calm.
Safe.
A quiet ache settled in his chest.
Not anger.
Not denial.
Something heavier.
"…We're still together," he murmured under his breath.
But the words felt fragile.
Because lately, being together with Claire didn't always mean being close to her.
And for the first time, Randy realized something he had been avoiding—
Their relationship hadn't broken.
But it was no longer as full as it used to be.
Sometimes warm.
Sometimes distant.
Sometimes close.
And sometimes… painfully empty.