The cafe was almost empty when I slid into the corner booth. Rain trickled down the windows, blurring the world outside, but it was the perfect weather for the fog inside my chest.
My thoughts were heavy, clinging to me like wet clothes.
Adrian's kisses still lingered, sweet on the surface, but bitter underneath. They weren't the same.
I couldn't stop replaying them, tasting the guilt I couldn't name, seeing the flicker in Maya's eyes when his name came up.
Most of all I couldn't believe Maya my best friend could steal my desire, my attention and love of my life with multiple bitterness and jealousy stabbing through my back.
So I stirred my cup absently, watching the cream spiral like secrets dissolving into the dark.
Do you mind if I sit?
The voice pulled me from my storm.
Daniel!
I shouted with so much excitement.
He stood at the edge of the table, holding his own cup, his presence steady as always, never demanding, never loud. Just… right there.
Of course, I said, forcing a smile.
He slipped into the seat across from me.
For a moment, we just listened to the rain.
That was Daniel's way, he never rushed into words.
He let silence stretch, safe and unhurried, until I was the one who broke it.
Do you ever… feel like people you love are slipping away from you?
The question tumbled out before I could stop it. My voice cracked like the surface of thin ice. Poor me!
Daniel's eyes, calm, watchful, met with mine.
Yes, he said softly. And sometimes, it's not that they're slipping away you know..
"Sometimes… they're walking somewhere you can't follow".
The words sank into me, heavy and uninvited. I looked down, heart stinging.
Why would they?
Why wouldn't they just stay honest?
I've been literally so friendly with a trust. Loyalty to me is just like a reciprocate.
The words sank into me again..
He hesitated, then leaned closer, his voice low, carefully you know there's more to a reason.
"Because honesty is heavier than lies. And some people aren't strong enough to carry it".
The spoon in my hand stilled. My breath got caught.
Daniel can never stop to be amazing.
He didn't say names, didn't accuse, but the way he looked at me steady, unflinching, told me he saw the cracks I was trying to hide.
I tried to laugh it off, but it came out brittle.
You make it sound like you know something I don't.
Daniel laughed and quickly said, Baby girl I don't, ok.
But there was something in the pause that betrayed him. I can feel it. I just… don't like seeing you hurt.
And it looks to me you are. I can feel and see it. Like body and soul.
The lump in my throat swelled. He was right.
Adrian's kisses left me unsettled.
Maya's silence clawed at me, and the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to cut my fingers as I tried to hold them together.
But right here was Daniel, quiet, patient, speaking truths without even naming them.
He wasn't dazzling or dangerous. He was grounding, like the steady drum of rain on the glass.
Thank you, Daniel. I whispered, surprising myself.
He only nodded, sipping his coffee, as though nothing had been confessed at all.
And yet, something shifted inside me all through.
Wait a second..
Daniel hadn't given me answers. He hadn't even given me proof.
But he had given me something else, something I didn't realize I was starving for. Something that is more than true. Solid.
And that is Clarity.
When he left, the booth felt colder, emptier.
But his words lingered. And suddenly, Adrian's next kiss would have to fight harder to hide its truth.
Daniel slid the envelope across the table toward me, his face unreadable.
"You deserve to know," he said quietly.
My fingers trembled as I pulled out the photographs inside and my heart stopped.
Adrian and Maya.
Together!!
Smiling in a way that made it impossible to call it innocent.
All thought's of my love and kindness flash straight my eyes.
I didn't realize I was crying until Daniel's hand covered mine.
"Now do you understand why I came to you?"