Post by Blissful Stories (@Blissful)

BEFORE YOU SAY GOODBYE
EPISODE 5 | PART 2: THE MESSAGE

Alexander ignored the first call, but when his phone vibrated again, Maya stepped back.
“You should answer it.”
“It's nothing.”
“Then answer it.”
He studied her face before reaching into his pocket. The moment he saw the name on the screen, the warmth disappeared from his expression.
JULIAN CROSS.
Alexander rejected the call.
Maya noticed the change immediately. “Who is Julian?”
“Someone I knew a long time ago.”
“Someone you knew, or someone you are afraid of?”
He looked at her sharply, and she knew she had touched something he did not want her to see.
Before he could answer, another message arrived.
Alexander read it, his jaw tightening.
Maya held out her hand. “What does it say?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Please don't do that.”
“Do what?”
“Make me feel like I'm the only person in this relationship who deserves the truth.”
The words landed between them. Alexander slipped the phone into his pocket, then reached for her hand, but Maya did not move closer.
“Tonight was supposed to be about us,” he said.
“Then why does it feel like there's always someone standing between us?”
He had no answer.
For a moment, the only sound was the music drifting across the terrace. Maya looked at the man she had loved, the man who could remember her favourite dessert but still could not explain why he had left her.
“Was any of tonight real?” she asked.
Alexander looked almost offended by the question.
“Every second.”
“Then give me one real answer. Why did you leave me five years ago?”
His face changed. She watched the struggle behind his eyes, the way he seemed to weigh his words against something more frightening than her anger.
“I wanted to tell you tonight,” he finally said.
“Then tell me now.”
He opened his mouth, but his phone vibrated again.
This time, Maya saw the message before he could hide it.
JULIAN CROSS: You have until tomorrow to tell her the truth. If you don't, I will.
She read it twice.
“What truth?”
Alexander took a slow breath. “Maya, please.”
“No. You don't get to kiss me, tell me you missed me every day, and then ask me to trust you when you refuse to tell me what is happening.”
“I am trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
He looked away.
That silence was an answer of its own.
Maya picked up her bag. Alexander reached for her, then stopped when he saw the hurt on her face.
“Don't leave like this,” he said.
She gave a small, painful laugh. “Now you know how it feels to watch someone walk away without understanding why.”
“Maya, that isn't fair.”
“Neither was what you did to me.”
She turned towards the exit, fighting the tears gathering in her eyes. He followed her but did not touch her again.
At the car, she stopped and faced him.
“I meant what I said earlier. I missed you. I missed us. But I cannot keep falling in love with a man who makes me feel like a stranger whenever the truth comes close.”
Alexander's eyes shone with a pain he could no longer hide.
“You were never a stranger to me.”
“Then stop treating me like one.”
She got into the car, leaving him standing beneath the terrace lights.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke during the drive back. When they arrived at her apartment, Maya opened the door before he could come around to help her.
“Goodnight, Alexander.”
“Maya.”
She paused.
“I came back because I thought we still had a chance.”
She looked at him, her eyes wet.
“Then stop making me regret believing that.”
She walked inside without looking back.
Alexander remained beside the car until the lights in her apartment came on. Then he took out his phone and called Julian.
Julian answered immediately.
“You received my message,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Does she know?”
“No.”
“Then you have until tomorrow.”
Alexander closed his eyes. “If you tell her before I can explain, you will destroy everything.”
A cold laugh came through the phone.
“Everything? Alexander, you destroyed it five years ago. You just let Maya believe she was the reason.”
The call ended.
Alexander stood motionless, staring at the dark screen.
Across the city, Maya sat on the edge of her bed, still wearing the dress he had told her was beautiful. She could still feel his arms around her, still remember the kiss that had made her believe they might find their way back to each other.
Then she remembered Julian's message.
Her phone lit up with a notification from an unknown number.
UNKNOWN: If you want to know why Alexander really left you, meet me tomorrow. Come alone.
A second message followed.
UNKNOWN: And whatever he tells you, don't believe that he left to protect you.
Maya stared at the screen, her heart pounding.
For five years, she had wanted the truth.
Now someone was offering it to her, and for the first time, she was terrified of what she might discover.

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