Teine sat on the edge of the couch, staring down at the cup of tea that had gone cold in her hands. Ryan’s sat untouched on the coffee table, and across from that he sat stiffly, awkwardly. He’d asked if they could “talk”, but now they’d been sitting in silence for almost fifteen minutes.
She knew that things had been rough lately. She’d been working more to support them after Ryan got laid off, but he was back on his feet now - she thought things were getting better.
Then he said the words that shattered her world.
“I just…. I just don’t love you anymore.”
The cup slipped from her fingers, landing on the carpet with a dull thud. The tea spilling in a slow, widening stain. Teine barely noticed.
“What?” Her voice came out in a choked whisper, barely audible over the roaring in her ears.
“Come on, you must have noticed it too… things are just different now.”
Her stomach twisted with the betrayal - before he lost his job, they’d been talking about marriage. And now this?
She tried to find something, anything, to hold on to. “We can fix this,” she said desperately. “We can—”
“No, Teine.” His voice was firm, final. “I don’t want to fix it.”
And there it was. The words that turned her bones to glass and shattered her from the inside out.
Teine had given this man everything - even the parts of herself she didn’t share with anyone else. Her unconditional support during the hardest time of his life, depleting her own savings to keep them above water. They were supposed to have a life together, a love to last until the end.
But he didn’t love her anymore.
She felt small, fragile, as if the floor beneath her had cracked wide open, and she was free-falling into a place where nothing made sense.
“What did I do wrong?” she choked out.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She shook her head, refusing to accept that answer. “Then why? Why are you giving up on us?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, and somehow, that made it worse. If there had been a reason, a mistake she had made, at least she could have fixed it. But this? This was just him slipping away, just her being powerless to stop it.
Ryan stared down at his cup, still untouched on the table, refusing to meet her eyes. “I think it might be best for me to go now - I can come gather my things this weekend, if that works for you.”
The finality of it crushed her.
Teine watched as he stood up, his achingly familiar frame moving toward the door. He hesitated, as if waiting for her to say something, but she had nothing left.
And then he was gone.
The apartment was silent except for the sound of her own breathing, ragged and uneven.
She sat there for a long time, staring at the stain on the carpet, unable to move.
Sunnyside Staff Member
Teine sat on the edge of the couch, staring down at the cup of tea that had gone cold in her hands. Ryan’s sat untouched on the coffee table, and across from that he sat stiffly, awkwardly. He’d asked if they could “talk”, but now they’d been sitting in silence for almost fifteen minutes.
She knew that things had been rough lately. She’d been working more to support them after Ryan got laid off, but he was back on his feet now - she thought things were getting better.
Then he said the words that shattered her world.
“I just…. I just don’t love you anymore.”
The cup slipped from her fingers, landing on the carpet with a dull thud. The tea spilling in a slow, widening stain. Teine barely noticed.
“What?” Her voice came out in a choked whisper, barely audible over the roaring in her ears.
“Come on, you must have noticed it too… things are just different now.”
Her stomach twisted with the betrayal - before he lost his job, they’d been talking about marriage. And now this?
She tried to find something, anything, to hold on to. “We can fix this,” she said desperately. “We can—”
“No, Teine.” His voice was firm, final. “I don’t want to fix it.”
And there it was. The words that turned her bones to glass and shattered her from the inside out.
Teine had given this man everything - even the parts of herself she didn’t share with anyone else. Her unconditional support during the hardest time of his life, depleting her own savings to keep them above water. They were supposed to have a life together, a love to last until the end.
But he didn’t love her anymore.
She felt small, fragile, as if the floor beneath her had cracked wide open, and she was free-falling into a place where nothing made sense.
“What did I do wrong?” she choked out.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She shook her head, refusing to accept that answer. “Then why? Why are you giving up on us?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted, and somehow, that made it worse. If there had been a reason, a mistake she had made, at least she could have fixed it. But this? This was just him slipping away, just her being powerless to stop it.
Ryan stared down at his cup, still untouched on the table, refusing to meet her eyes. “I think it might be best for me to go now - I can come gather my things this weekend, if that works for you.”
The finality of it crushed her.
Teine watched as he stood up, his achingly familiar frame moving toward the door. He hesitated, as if waiting for her to say something, but she had nothing left.
And then he was gone.
The apartment was silent except for the sound of her own breathing, ragged and uneven.
She sat there for a long time, staring at the stain on the carpet, unable to move.
2025-02-16 04:15:03 (Edited 2025-02-23 18:17:29)
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fallenfishy Staff Member
Winner winner chicken dinner!
2025-02-23 18:17:48
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