The days without Sid felt longer than Anna expected.
She tried to focus on work. She stayed busy. She smiled when people spoke to her. But at night, when everything slowed down, her thoughts always returned to him. Not to the arguments or the distance, but to the quiet moments they once shared. The comfort. The ease.
She missed that the most.
Sid wasn't doing any better.
Space was supposed to help him think, but instead, it made everything louder. He replayed every conversation, every moment where he had chosen silence instead of honesty. He realized something important during those quiet days.
He hadn't been protecting Anna.
He had been protecting himself.
One evening, Sid stood outside the office long after everyone had left. He watched the lights go off one by one, knowing Anna would usually be gone by now. Still, he waited. When she finally stepped outside, surprised to see him, he felt his heart race.
"Can we talk?" he asked.
Anna hesitated, then nodded.
They sat on a bench nearby, the city quiet around them. For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"I'm sorry," Sid said first. "For pulling away. For not letting you in."
Anna looked at him carefully. "Why did you?"
He took a deep breath. "Because I was scared. I've always been the one who handles everything quietly. Family expectations. Work pressure. I thought if I showed you that side of me, you'd feel burdened."
Her expression softened. "You don't get to decide that for me."
"I know," he said. "I see that now."
Anna looked down at her hands. "I never needed you to be perfect. I just needed you to be real with me."
Sid nodded. "I want to be. If you'll let me."
Silence followed, but this time it didn't hurt.
"I was scared too," Anna admitted. "Scared that I was loving someone who didn't trust me enough to stay."
Sid turned to her. "I do trust you. I just didn't know how to say it."
She met his eyes. "Then start now."
He smiled slightly. "I don't have everything figured out. I'm still learning. But I know this—I don't want a life where you're not part of it."
Anna felt tears sting her eyes, but she didn't look away. "Neither do I."
They didn't rush into promises. They didn't pretend everything was suddenly perfect. But something important changed.
They chose honesty.
As they walked away together that night, Anna realized something she hadn't before. Knowing someone completely wasn't about answers. It was about choosing to keep listening, even when things were uncomfortable.
Sid understood it too. Love wasn't about hiding the hard parts. It was about letting someone see them and staying anyway.
For the first time, the question that had followed Anna for so long felt lighter.
Do I ever really know you?
Maybe not completely.
But now, she was willing to learn.
And so was he.