I swallowed, my hands tightening into fists at my sides. "Rei..." His name left my lips in a whisper.
He held onto it like it meant something. He took another step forward, his gaze filled with an almost desperate hope. "Say it."
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to break away from his gaze. My voice, when it came, was steady but laced with something colder.
"A person always desires what they can't have."
I paused, knowing what I was about to say would hurt, but it needed to be said.
"And they never value what's already theirs.
I am no different."
The moment the words left my lips, I regretted them. But I couldn't take them back. I had to be cruel. If not for myself, then for him.
A small, almost bitter smile flickered across his lips. He nodded, as if he had expected this answer. As if, deep down, he already knew.
"I see."
He turned on his heel and walked away.
I watched him go, the distance between us growing with every step. My heart clenched, but I forced myself to stay still.
I did the right thing, I told myself.
But as I stood there, alone in the dim light, another thought whispered through my mind.
I am no different.
You were mine, yet never mine. And I was yours, yet never yours.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself before stepping inside.
The night swallowed his figure whole.