Post by Blissful Stories (@Blissful)

BEFORE YOU SAY GOODBYE
EPISODE 10: ONE MORE NIGHT

Maya had barely slept since Alexander showed her the photograph and left her wondering what happened five years ago. She had promised herself to stop chasing answers, yet when he called that afternoon, she answered immediately.

“I need to see you,” he said.
“If you're going to tell me half a story again, don't bother.”
“I know I haven't earned your trust. I'm not asking you to forgive me tonight. Just give me one evening without questions. One night to remember us before everything fell apart. If you still want me gone afterward, I will leave.”

She should have said no. “One night,” she agreed. “But don't mistake it for forgiveness.”
They met at Alexander's apartment in Lagos. He had ordered food from their old favourite restaurant, where they used to share pasta and pretend it was a grand date. Their song played softly.
Maya smiled. “You remembered.”
“I remember everything about us.”
“Then you remember stealing the last bite.”
“You always said you didn't want it.”
“I was being polite.”
“And I was hungry.”

She laughed before she could stop herself. For a moment, they were young again, teasing as though no secrets or heartbreak stood between them.
Over dinner, they exchanged stories about the years they had missed, laughing at the ridiculous things that had happened while they were apart.
“I wish I could have been there,” he said.
Her smile faded. “Don't say things that make me remember how good we were.”
“Were we good, Maya?”
“You know we were.”
“I think about the life we planned every day,” he said. “The home we wanted, the ordinary mornings, all the things I thought we had time for.”
“Then why didn't you come back?”
His expression changed. She had stepped too close to the truth.
Maya pushed back her chair. “I knew this was a mistake.”
“Please. I will tell you everything. I just need the courage to say it without destroying what's left of us.”
“You don't get to decide what I can survive.”
“I know. That's what I should have understood five years ago.”
She looked away, blinking back tears. Alexander waited until she turned and offered him her hand.
“Tonight,” she whispered, “I don't want to fight.”
He held her hand. “Neither do I.”

They stepped onto the balcony, where city lights shimmered. They talked about the little house Maya had wanted and the ridiculous dog Alexander had promised to buy her.
“You would have burned everything,” she teased.
“I would have hired a chef.”
“With what money?”
“I had plans.”
“You had confidence. That isn't the same thing.”
He laughed, and she laughed with him, aching at how easy happiness once felt beside him.
When their old anniversary song began to play, Alexander held out his hand. “One dance?”

Maya stepped into his arms. They swayed beneath the balcony lights, her cheek resting against his chest.
“I missed this,” she whispered.
“I missed you. Not just your face or your voice. I missed who I was when I was with you.”
She lifted her head. He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
“Tell me to stop if you want me to.”
Maya answered by kissing him.

At first the kiss was gentle, almost uncertain. Then five years of longing and regret rose between them, and she kissed him back, holding his shirt as if she could keep the moment from ending. When they parted, their foreheads rested together.
“Just tonight,” she whispered.
Neither of them believed it.

They talked until their voices grew quiet. Alexander brought her a blanket, and Maya curled up beside him on the sofa. She meant to leave before morning, before she could mistake one beautiful night for a promise, but his hand rested over hers and exhaustion took over.
Just before sleep claimed her, she heard him whisper, “I'm sorry, Maya.”
She wanted to ask what he meant, but her eyes were already closing.
When she woke, pale morning light filled the room. The blanket was tucked around her shoulders, but the place beside her was empty.

“Alexander?”
No answer.
His jacket and overnight bag were gone. On the table sat the untouched coffee she had poured for him, beside a folded note. Her fingers trembled as she opened it.
“Maya, last night was the happiest I've been in five years. Please believe that. There is something I must do before I can tell you everything. Don't come looking for me.”
She read it twice. After everything he had said and the kiss that made her believe he might stay, he had left again.
Her phone buzzed. An unknown number had sent a message.
“If you want to know why Alexander left this morning, come to the address below. Come alone.”
Beneath it was an address she recognised.
The hospital where Maya had been taken five years ago, on the very night Alexander disappeared.

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