That night, after Liam's confession, Sera lay awake staring at the ceiling. His words kept repeating in her mind: "When I'm with you… it feels like I've finally found what I've been missing all this time."
Beautiful words. Honest. Yet still… not once had Liam said who she was to him, and nothing about their status had changed.
They had never given each other a title. No status. No promises. Only lingering touches, gentle gazes, and a strange pull that brought them closer.
But now… with Clara's presence, the silence left from unspoken words felt even heavier.
When they met again, Sera tried to smile as usual. Liam, of course, noticed—how her eyes often looked away, how her laughter sounded slightly forced.
"You okay?" Liam asked softly, reaching for her hand.
Sera pulled back slightly. Not enough to hurt him, but just enough to make him feel the distance.
"I'm okay," she whispered. Inside, however, her chest was full of questions she couldn't voice.
What if I'm just an ordinary person crossing the line of his life? Not someone he truly wants to keep?
What if I'm merely a beautiful escape from the woman who was supposed to be his true target?
Liam's brow furrowed; he felt the distance, even if he didn't know why.
"If anything's bothering you… you can tell me."
Sera's throat tightened. She wanted to—wanted desperately to ask: Am I yours? Or just a stranger who happens to feel close? What are we now?
But the words stuck in her throat. What if his answer shattered her completely?
In the end, she only offered a soft smile.
"I know."
And so the silence grew. Not because there was no love, but because they were both afraid to destroy something that hadn't even been named between them.
---
"Liam, you've been looking down lately. Are you alright?"
Fernando patted his friend's shoulder. Liam had been standing among rows of fresh flowers in his small florist shop. The scent of roses and lilies filled the air, but Liam's attention was nowhere near the flowers. His gaze remained fixed on the large glass window across the street—the bakery, with its warm light and faint aroma of bread drifting toward them.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Liam replied briefly, without truly looking.
Fernando raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.
"Come on, I've known you a long time. That face… I know it too well. What's wrong? Rejected by a girl? Or… left again?"
Liam let out a breath, his fingers brushing against a white rose petal on the nearby table.
"Not that, Fer."
Fernando snorted, leaning closer, lowering his voice.
"If not that, then why are you staring at that bakery like the world will collapse if you blink? Hungry? Want me to buy you something?"
Liam chuckled softly, shaking his head.
He paused, a girl's image appearing in his mind—her gentle smile, the way she lowered her gaze shyly, and eyes that somehow both calmed and shattered his defenses.
"There's a girl," Liam finally admitted, his voice almost a whisper, as if even the scent of flowers could carry his words away.
Fernando grinned immediately.
"Ah, so there really is a girl. Who is she?"
Liam looked down, eyes fixed on the bakery's glass reflecting the warm yellow light.
"I don't even know if she's really mine. We've never talked about it. No promises, no titles. Just glances… small touches… and something that keeps drawing us closer."
Fernando observed his friend more seriously now, realizing this wasn't just an ordinary story.
"Then why the gloom? Isn't that good?" he asked cautiously.
A brief silence. Then Liam whispered, almost as if afraid anyone else might hear:
"I'm scared…"
Fernando frowned.
"Scared of what?"
"I'm scared she… Sera, thinks I'm just using her as a replacement for Clara," Liam finally admitted, his voice quivering softly. His gaze stayed on the bakery across the street, as if the answer he sought was behind that glass.
"How would she know about Clara?"
"Yesterday, when we were walking, we accidentally crossed paths and I told her a little about Clara."
Fernando was silent for a moment, trying to process it.
"I get it, but you're not like that, right? You're not using her as a substitute?"
"No." Liam shook his head quickly, firmly.
"She… Sera makes me feel alive again in a way Clara never could. But I know my past wounds are still visible. I'm afraid she'll think I'm only chasing Clara's shadow through her. And I… I couldn't bear it if that made her pull away."
Fernando took a deep breath and patted his friend's shoulder firmly.
"Then show her. Let her see for herself that you choose her—not because of the past, but because she's the only one you want now."
---
The days passed. Liam and Sera still met at the café, still walked down quiet streets, still shared stories that sometimes stretched until midnight. Yet, something between them had changed.
Every smile Sera offered felt slightly restrained. Every time their hands brushed, there was an unspoken question hanging in the air: Are we truly ours? Or just fragments of comfort in each other's lives?
Liam noticed. He always noticed. How her eyes darted away when he looked too long. How her laughter, though gentle, had a slight edge of restraint. How her presence could make him both whole and broken at the same time.
Even on ordinary days, the weight of unspoken words and the shadow of past relationships hung quietly, like mist over a morning field. Yet, the pull between them—soft, persistent, and undeniable—kept drawing them together.
Every glance, every small touch, every shared silence was a reminder: this was fragile, yet it was theirs. And neither of them could let go, not yet.