The Line We Pretend Not to Cross
Starling's POV
The gallery's studio was too quiet.
Brushes were arranged neatly, canvases stacked, windows open just enough to let the morning wind slip in.
It should have been calming — but nothing felt calm with him here.
Elijah stood across the room, sleeves folded to his elbows, flipping through color palettes.
He didn't look at me, but I could feel him.
Like gravity.
"We should pick a base color for the background," he said, tone professional.
I nodded, pulling my sketchbook closer. "Something muted. So the emotion stays in the figures, not the backdrop."
"Good."
Just one word — but it vibrated with the memory of every time he ever praised me.
We worked in silence for a while — but not the safe kind.
The kind that remembers.
At one point, he moved behind me to reach a canvas on the shelf.
His voice brushed my ear: "Excuse me."
And just like that, I forgot how to breathe.
He smelled the same. Like cedarwood and warmth and every night I ever loved him.
I stepped away quickly, too quickly — the stool leg caught, wobbling.
Before I could fall, his hand closed around my wrist, steadying me.
Not forceful. Not dramatic.
Just… natural, like he'd done it a thousand times.
Our eyes met — and something raw passed between us.
I pulled my hand back slowly. "Don't."
Elijah's gaze didn't soften. "I wasn't going to drop you."
"That's not what I meant."
He exhaled — long, tired, honest.
"I know."
But neither of us moved away.
The line between us wasn't distance — it was memory.
...................
Matthew's POV
The Ashford company lobby was loud with morning chatter when I stepped in. Employees rushing around, phones ringing, meetings being scheduled.
Nothing unusual — until the elevator doors opened.
Rin stepped out.
She wore a simple cream dress, hair tied up loosely.
She wasn't holding cupcakes, or coffee, or hiding behind a bakery counter.
She looked… like the version of her I never got to meet.
She froze, just like me.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
I cleared my throat. "Board wants breakfast before the meeting. I came to pick it up."
Her brows shot up. "Breakfast? For an entire board?"
She lifted the bag in her hand. "I'm delivering it."
So fate wasn't done being petty.
We stood there. Too close. Too familiar.
And the world around us kept moving as if time wasn't crashing for us.
"I didn't know the bakery did corporate deliveries," I said.
"We don't," she replied. "But someone specifically requested me."
Her eyes told me exactly who she suspected.
"No," I said before she asked. "It wasn't me."
Silence — but thick, heavy, vulnerable.
She shifted the bag to the other hand. "Well. They're waiting. I should go."
She tried walking past me — but this time, I didn't let her slip away so easily.
"Rin."
She stopped. Not because she wanted to — but because my voice still held something she didn't know how to ignore.
"You remember everything," I said quietly. "You just don't want to."
Her lashes trembled — the tiniest betrayal of emotion.
Then she swallowed. "Maybe remembering doesn't help anyone."
"It helps me," I said. Too raw. Too honest.
Her eyes flicked up, hurt and longing flashing for one second before she whispered:
"That's the problem, Matthew."
And she walked toward the conference room — leaving me standing there with all the words I should've said years ago burning in my throat.
Back to the studio.....
Elijah's POV
30 mins later, the painting's outline finally filled the canvas — two figures reaching for each other but not touching.
Starling stared at it, arms crossed.
"I think we need more space between them," she said. "It shouldn't look like they'll ever meet."
I studied her instead of the canvas.
"You think love is distance?"
"I think love is timing," she answered quietly. "And timing isn't always kind."
Her voice cut through me like glass.
I stepped closer, not touching her — but close enough for her to feel everything I wasn't saying.
"Then tell me," I murmured. "If timing was kind now… would you let me love you again?"
Her breath shuddered — but she didn't move away.
"Elijah…" she whispered, eyes glimmering. "Don't ask questions you already know I'll lie to."
And her voice cracked just enough for me to feel every second of the three years we lost.
Rin's POV
The elevator doors closed behind me the moment the delivery was done.
My heart was pounding too fast to pretend I was fine.
I leaned against the wall, whispering to myself:
"You can't fall again."
But then the doors opened on the next floor — and Matthew walked in. Just him. Just me. No escape.
He didn't speak.
I didn't either.
The elevator moved — slow, painfully slow — and with every floor, the silence grew hotter, thicker, impossible.
When the elevator stopped suddenly — a minor mechanical pause — he laughed softly.
"Of course. We'd get stuck together."
My voice shook. "It'll move in a minute."
"Rin…" he said.
"No," I cut in. "Don't. Please."
He did anyway — gently, not demanding:
"I never got over you."
And for the first time since he walked into the bakery, my heart finally spoke louder than my fear.
"I know."
Rin's POV
The elevator jerked back to life, doors sliding open before either of us could react.
We stepped out — not speaking, not looking — both pretending nothing had just broken inside us.
But the universe didn't care.
Around the corner, a few of the board members were gathered — and standing with them was a woman.
Tall, elegant, red lipstick, and eyes fixed on Matthew like she already owned him.
She walked straight to him, looping her arm around his without hesitation.
"Babe, I've been waiting for you," she said sweetly.
Rin froze.
Matthew stiffened — not shocked, just uncomfortable — and that said more than any words could.
"Rin," he said, stepping forward slightly, "this is—"
"It's okay," Rin cut in with a polite smile that was too perfect to be real.
"Looks like you're busy. Congratulations… on everything."
And before he could say another word, she turned and walked toward the exit — fast, purposeful, before her heart showed on her face.
Behind her, the woman whispered to Matthew, loud enough for only him to hear — but Rin caught it anyway:
"Is that the girl you still dream about?"
Rin didn't stop walking.
If she did, she might break.
Back to the studio...
Elijah's POV
Starling kept painting after what she said — pretending the question I asked didn't shake her.
"If timing was kind now… would you let me love you again?"
She avoided my eyes, but her brush strokes were too deep, too forceful, exposing every emotion she wasn't ready to speak.
"You're pushing too much pressure on the shadows," I said softly.
"I know," she murmured.
"You're angry."
"No," she whispered, brushing harder. "I'm scared."
That word landed in my chest like impact.
I walked closer — close enough that she could feel me but not trapped.
"Of me?"
"Of us," she corrected. "We ruined each other once. What if we do it again?"
I reached for the brush in her hand — not to take it, but to steady it.
"Then this time," I said quietly, "we don't run."
Her breath caught — and she turned toward me slowly.
Our faces inches apart.
The kind of distance that asks for a kiss without saying a word.
Her eyes drifted to my lips — just for a second.
And that was enough.
I leaned in — slow, giving her every chance to pull away.
She didn't.
We were a heartbeat away from touching when—
The studio door swung open.
Rin walked in — eyes red, trying to pretend they weren't.
"Sorry," she said quickly, wiping her cheeks. "Didn't know you two were—busy."
Starling snapped away from me instantly, stepping back like she'd touched fire.
"Rin?" she whispered, worried immediately. "What happened?"
Rin shook her head. "Nothing. It's fine."
But she was trembling.
I stepped back, giving them space — but not missing the storm in Starling's eyes.
"We'll continue later," she said to me quietly, then gently touched Rin's arm. "Come on, talk to me."
The two walked out together, and the moment the door shut, silence swallowed the room.
I stared at the unfinished canvas — two figures reaching but never touching.
For the first time… I hated it.
Matthew's POV
I got out of the board meeting as fast as I could, leaving my so-called girlfriend behind without an apology.
I didn't care.
I searched every floor — every hallway — until I spotted Starling and Rin at the parking lot.
Rin was sitting inside the car, head down.
Starling stood outside, arms folded, staring daggers at me.
"What did you do to her?" Starling asked sharply.
"It's not what you think," I said.
"Matthew, she's crying. And Rin doesn't cry."
Her tone wasn't just protective — it was furious.
"I didn't hurt her," I said honestly. "She walked away before I could explain."
"And you didn't go after her?"
"I'm here now!" I snapped without meaning to.
Rin lifted her head from inside the car — eyes wet, voice shaking.
"Why didn't you tell me you moved on, Matthew?"
Silence.
Because the truth was worse than a lie.
"I didn't," I said. "I never did."
The world held its breath.
Starling looked between us, then opened the car door. "Rin, do you want him to leave?"
Rin didn't look at me — she stared at her trembling hands instead.
"I don't know," she whispered.
That sentence hurt more than hate ever could.
Starling's POV
The moment I heard Rin say I don't know, my chest tightened — because I saw myself in her.
Confused. Hurt. Loving someone I wish I didn't.
Matthew took a step closer, but I blocked him.
"Not now. Give her time."
He clenched his jaw but didn't argue.
"I'm not running this time," he said quietly. "She needs space, she'll get it. But I'm not disappearing."
Then he left.
I turned to Rin, climbing into the car beside her.
She finally let herself cry — quietly, like she didn't want the world to hear.
"I hate that he still gets to hurt me, don't even know why crying. But it's still hurt." she whispered.
I rested my head against hers.
"I know," I said softly. "I hate that Elijah still gets to hurt me too."
Rin sniffed, a broken laugh escaping. "We're a mess."
I chuckled sadly. "A masterpiece in progress."
Nightfall
Elijah's POV
The studio was dark when I returned to check the canvas one last time.
Someone had written a note at the bottom of the artwork — Starling's handwriting.
"There's a reason the figures don't touch.
Some love stories burn brightest before they break."
It felt like a knife.
I picked up a pencil — hands shaking — and wrote beneath it:
"But some break so they can be rebuilt stronger."
Then I stepped back.
The canvas wasn't just art anymore.
It was us.
Matthew's POV
Rin didn't answer my calls. Didn't open my texts. Didn't even read them.
And honestly?
I deserved the silence.
But doing nothing wasn't an option anymore.
I drove to the bakery after closing hours — lights off, shop locked. I sat outside in the car like an idiot, waiting… hoping.
I wasn't expecting her to show up.
But she did.
Her steps slowed the second she saw me — annoyance, disbelief, exhaustion all flashing through her eyes.
She didn't move closer. She didn't look away either.
"You're making this hard," she whispered.
I stepped out of the car. "You think it's easy for me?"
"You shouldn't be here."
"But I am."
She shook her head, voice breaking.
"You can't fix what you walked away from."
I walked closer — slow, giving her space.
"Rin… the biggest mistake of my life was thinking leaving you would protect you."
Her breath hitched — because she remembered the night everything shattered.
"I loved you," she said, almost angry.
"I know."
"I begged you to let me stay."
"I know."
"And you still walked away, Matthew."
My voice wasn't steady anymore.
"If I told you why… you wouldn't forgive me."
She lifted her chin. "Try me."
I swallowed hard.
Her face paled.
Her eyes filled — but not just with pain this time.
With something deeper.
She whispered.
"You didn't give me a choice."
"I know," I said, voice breaking. "And that's what I regret every single day."
Silence. Heavy. Loaded.
Then she said the words that shattered me all over again:
"You should have fought for me, Matthew."
And she walked past, unlocking the bakery door — leaving me in the freezing night with nothing but the weight of every choice I made.
Starling's POV
Rin didn't sleep that night.
She paced the living room, sat, stood, paced again — fighting tears, fighting memories, fighting herself.
And I didn't sleep either — because I knew exactly how that war felt.
"Do you still love him?" I asked softly.
Rin stopped moving.
"That's the worst part," she whispered.
"I don't think I ever stopped."
I hugged her — not to fix her, just to hold her together.
She didn't speak after that.
But she didn't need to.
Elijah's POV
I told myself I went home to sleep.
That was a lie.
I drove to Starling's apartment — parked across the street like a coward — watching lights turn on one room at a time.
She wasn't alone.
Rin was there.
They were talking, comforting each other — and for the first time, I saw the pain between them that had nothing to do with me.
Starling didn't need more heartbreak.
But God, I wanted her.
After a long time, she stepped onto the balcony — hugging her arms around herself against the cold.
I stayed in the car, invisible… quiet…
and watched her breathe.
She stared at the sky for a long time, then whispered into the night:
"I wish loving you didn't still hurt."
She didn't know I heard it.
She didn't know I left after that — because staying would have destroyed me.
Some love stories don't die.
They just wait.
The next day morning before sunrise
Rin's POV
I opened the bakery before sunrise.
I needed something to do with my hands — kneading dough, whisking cream, anything to stop thinking.
But the universe wanted to make sure I didn't escape today.
Because when I stepped into the kitchen…
Matthew was already there.
He wasn't touching anything.
He was just standing in the dark — waiting.
His voice was quiet, but determined.
"I'm not letting you go again."
My heart slammed in my chest.
"Matthew—"
"No," he cut in gently. "You've asked all the questions. Now I'm asking one."
He stepped closer, not to trap me — but to be real, raw, unprotected.
"If loving me still hurts… then tell me to leave. Tell me you don't want me anymore. Tell me to walk out of your life and I swear I'll disappear."
He waited — eyes steady, breath uneven, chest rising and falling like he was terrified of the answer.
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because my heart knew the answer before my lips did.
And the truth wasn't simple.
The truth was dangerous.
The truth was love.