Kaius Oziel
I gazed out at the city lights from his window, my heart and mind unusually calm. I drifted through the quiet night alone, unable to find anyone to share this uneventful evening with. Julian was caught up with his company's latest project and was meeting with one of his clients. Not even the comfort of my current read, which is a novel about finding yourself, could distract me from the boredom filling my room tonight.
I wasn't supposed to go out. I had pending designs to finish. But something restless wouldn't let me sit still in the comfort of my condo. So I grabbed my car keys, shrugged on a warm jacket, and drove to the little café I always went to with Julian.
The bell chimed as I stepped inside. The warm aroma of roasted coffee beans and caramel washed over me. Unlike most evenings, the café was buzzing with the energy of students pouring over their books, groups laughing at shared jokes, and people like me.. alone and just wanting to unwind. I ordered a strawberry milk and slipped into an empty seat in the farthest corner.
It was supposed to be a peaceful night. Just finish my drink, watch the city outside, and quietly try to figure out what tomorrow would look like. But fate had other plans.
My gaze wandered, scanning for a familiar face, secretly wishing Julian would be there; some part of me hungry for attention, another part just wanting the comfort of his presence. I told myself I wouldn't look, that I'd focus on my drink. But as my eyes drifted across the room, my heartbeat stuttered.
Julian was really here, tucked into a corner table. He seemed lost in conversation with.. a girl I didn't recognize. She was pretty, with wide eyes and a laugh that could fill the room. I felt the air leave my lungs. My first instinct was guilt. Maybe I was overreacting. Jealousy always felt ugly on me, and Julian often warned me not to jump to conclusions. I remembered what he told me: busy with a company project, having to meet a client. But as I watched them, unable to tear my eyes away, I saw how close they sat, how he leaned in, how the girl's laugh drew out responses from him that I thought.. were only mine.
I tried to distract myself.. checked my phone, scrolled through social media.. as a weak shield against the tide of anxiety rising in my chest. But the uncertainty stayed, heavy and suffocating. Every sound from that corner stabbed my whole being. Every shared smile, every small gesture chipped away everything I protected all these years..
I told myself to stop watching. I tried to remember all the happy moments we'd spent together, but they felt distant, blurred by the image of Julian giving that kind of attention to someone else. I wasn't brave enough to confront him, not yet. I told myself I was just mistaken, misreading everything. It was easier to cling to the idea of innocence than to face the possibility of betrayal. So I sat there in quiet agony, hoping Julian would notice me, come over, make everything okay with a smile or a kiss on the forehead.
Get yourself together, Kaius Oziel! You and Julian have been together for so long. He would never do whatever it is you're thinking, okay? Stop overthinking!
The hours dragged on. I was about to leave, choosing peace over the loud noise in my head. I'd been invisible all night, and maybe that was for the best.
Maybe if he never saw me, nothing would have to break.
I took one last glance at Julian, but what I saw made me wish I hadn't.
In that instant, it felt like everything around me slowed down. The steady buzz of the café faded, replaced by the deafening thud of my heartbeat echoing in my ears. I watched.. helpless.. as Julian leaned in too close to the girl. My stomach twisted, my body rooted to the spot.
I should have looked away. I should have protected myself. But all I could do was watch in
paralyzed silence as Julian reached out and, with an intimacy that was both tender and cruel, pressed a soft, unmistakable kiss to her lips… a gesture meant for lovers, not secrets. It wasn't clumsy or accidental. It was intentional.
For a heartbeat, I doubted my own senses. Maybe it was a greeting. Maybe it meant nothing.
But the way his lips lingered, the way she didn't pull back, told me everything I needed to know.
The pain hit me like a wave, crashing through my chest. I tried to cling to any scrap of hope, but it sank under the weight of what I'd just seen. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, but I forced them back. I refused to cry where anyone could see.
Then, out of nowhere, a commotion broke through my haze. A voice, sharp and furious, rang through the café. I snapped out of my daze and saw a stranger, fists clenched and eyes blazing, step forward and, without warning, land a punch squarely on Julian's face.
The shock jolted me back into my body as chaos erupted around us.
"Are you serious right now? You've got a boyfriend, and yet here you are, locking lips with someone else?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" the stranger shouted, his words slicing through the stunned silence.
My breath caught as Julian turned pale. I had never seen this man before, but there he was, voicing the truth I had been too afraid to say. Julian tried to defend himself, stumbling over excuses, but his words fell flat. The girl beside him looked shaken, confusion painted all over her face. Whispers swelled around the café, screens lit up as people recorded, gossip spreading like wildfire.
Something shifted inside me.
For years, I had been the quiet one, the peacemaker. The one who avoided fights, who patched up the broken pieces of our relationship without asking for much in return. I'd let Julian slip away too many times, forgiven too easily, swallowed my hurt just to keep the peace. But tonight, the pain was too big to ignore.
I pushed myself to my feet, my legs trembling as I began to walk toward them. My head was spinning, thoughts bruised and raw. The crowd parted as I approached, eyes following me, breaths held.
When I reached their table, I felt strangely numb. The pain sharpened my words; the anger steadied my voice. I looked at Julian, then at the stranger, then at the girl.
"It was never his relationship, but it was ours, isn't it?" I said, my voice low but clear. "Or at least, it was supposed to be." The words slipped out like ice. "Did I get it wrong? Because whatever this was, it's over. We're fucking done."
Julian's face crumpled into shock and panic. He reached for me, but I stepped back, too hurt to accept his touch and too tired to pretend any of this could be fixed with an apology.
I met the stranger's eyes, and for a moment, I saw my own anger and hurt reflected back at me, like he cared, even if he didn't know me. I didn't know why, but my hand moved on its own. I reached for him, fingers brushing his, and then I held on.
Without a word, I gently tugged him away from the chaos, leaving Julian and the scandal behind us.
Outside the café, the night air wrapped around us, cool and heavy with possibility. I didn't know what tomorrow would bring, didn't know how to heal, didn't know if this ache in my chest would ever fade. We walked aimlessly together through the city streets, the lights blurring at the edges of my vision.
I thought about all the years I'd spent loving quietly, always on tiptoe, always afraid that needing too much would make everything fall apart. All the times I'd held my tongue instead of arguing, all the lonely nights smoothed over with empty promises.
But tonight was different.
Tonight, I was done making excuses for Julian's betrayal. Done shrinking myself to make someone else comfortable. Done denying my own pain so someone else could feel secure.