Time zones.
Different countries.
Different lives.
They dated other people.
None lasted.
They fought.
Stopped talking.
Came back.
They were magnets pretending they weren't metal.
She would hate him when he sounded distant.
Love him when he remembered her birthday first.
He would get quiet when she mentioned other guys.
Soft when she sounded tired.
Neither confessed.
Both knew.
Years later..
A mutual friend's wedding.
She almost didn't go.
But she did.
And there he was.
No screen between them.
No buffering.
No typing dots.
Just him.
Older.
Calmer.
More unreadable.
Their eyes locked.
It felt like high school and goodbye and 2:17 AM all at once.
He walked toward her.
Stopped close.
"If I asked you right now," he said, voice low, "would you still say no?"
Her chest hurt.
"No."
Finally honest.
He smiled.
Gentle.
Tired.
"I'm getting married next month."
The music continued in the background.
People laughed.
But in her chest?
Something closed permanently.
She nodded.
"That's good."
He leaned slightly closer.
"You were never wrong for me, Maya."
She swallowed.
"Just late."
He didn't deny it.
They stood there a second longer than they should have.
Then someone called his name.
And he walked away.
Not angrily.
Not dramatically.
Just… forward.