The moment I saw him step into the hospital room, something inside me cracked.
It had been days since the competition, since the fall, since I heard my parents call me weak like it was the only word that could define me.
The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the pain of being reminded that no matter how hard I tried, I was never enough, not for them, not even for myself.
And now he was here.
Calix.
The man who once made me believe that maybe, maybe, love didn't have to hurt.
"Hey," he said softly, his voice careful, as if he were approaching a wounded animal.
I stared at him, my face cold, unreadable.
My hands were clenched over the blanket covering my bandaged leg.
He took a few steps closer. "You shouldn't be sitting up—"
"Don't."
My voice cut through the room like glass.
He froze.
"Don't come closer. Don't talk to me like nothing happened."
His expression faltered, pain flickering in his eyes. "Aurora, please, it's not what you think—"
"What I think?"
I let out a bitter laugh that didn't sound like me, it sounded like someone who'd already lost too much.
I laughed again, louder this time, until my voice trembled. "She looked at me like I was a joke. So tell me, what exactly do you think I should think?"
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration spilling through his posture. "It's not what it looked like, Aurora. Listen to me, pleas! She just—"
"LISTEN TO YOU?"
My voice rose, sharp and trembling, raw from holding back too much.
"LISTEN TO YOU, CALIX? YOU'RE FUCKING OTHER WOMEN WHILE FUCKING ME, AND YOU EXPECT ME TO SIT HERE AND LISTEN?"
His face went white.
Tears burned the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not again. Not for him.
"I trusted you," I whispered, almost to myself. "Do you know how hard that was for me? After everything I've lived with, the expectations, the control, the loneliness, I let you in. I believed that you were different."
"Aurora, please," he said, stepping closer, desperation edging his voice. "I swear to God, nothing happened. She just showed up. She wouldn't leave. I tried to—"
"Stop."
My voice cracked this time. "Stop fucking lying."
He shook his head, his hands trembling. "I'm not lying. You have to believe me."
"Believe you?"
I met his gaze, and this time the tears finally fell.
"You know what the worst part is? I want to believe you. I really do. But how do I believe someone who made me feel like I was the only one, only to find out I wasn't?"
He stepped forward until he was standing right in front of me, but I turned my face away.
"You don't understand," I said, my voice barely holding itself together. "You don't understand what you broke inside me. I was learning how to love. I was finally learning, Calix. And you ruined it."
He didn't say anything for a long moment.
Then, quietly, he said, "You're right."
That caught me off guard.
"I broke your trust," he continued, his voice low, shaking. "And I'll never forgive myself for that. But Aurora, please, just listen to me once. Let me explain what really happened. You deserve that much."
I laughed through the tears. "You think I deserve an explanation now?"
"No," he said. "You deserve the truth."
The silence between us was suffocating.
I stared at him for what felt like hours, my heart pounding so loud it hurt.
Finally, I whispered, "Then tell me."