Page 114 of Unfaithful

The air between us was thick, with everything unspoken.

And it was so hard—so, so hard—to say the words.

But I had to.

They had lived in my mind for some time now, pressing against the walls of my heart, waiting to be set free. I had just been too greedy to let them go. Too selfish to say them sooner.

Before I could find the courage to speak, he beat me to it. "I know what you're going to say," he murmured, his voice quiet, resigned. His gaze stayed fixed on the ceiling, as if looking at me would make it hurt more. "You want me to leave you."

Archie had always known. He always understood what I was thinking, what I was feeling. Sometimes even before I did.

"Even though I kept saying I'd wait for you," he continued, his voice a quiet ache. "That I'd be fine standing on the sideline... and being there whenever you needed me."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice barely holding together.

Archie let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "It is what it is, Sara," he said, but the pain beneath his words was unmistakable. "You can't love me. I need to accept that."

I exhaled shakily, my chest aching. "I need time to heal, Archie. If we rush into this now, we'll always wonder—are we bound by love or by the misery that happened to me? Am I holding on because we were meant to be, or because I'm afraid of what's left of me without you?

"You came into my life when everything was falling apart, and you were there for me. I can't fathom how I would survive without you. But that's exactly why I need time apart—to let go, to stand on my own. Because my heartbreak, my pain... it's still raw. And any choice I made right now wouldn't be fair to you or to me."

The hurt in his eyes... it was unbearable. It hollowed me out and made me wish I could take it all back. But I couldn't. I wouldn't. I refused to shatter him just to keep myself whole.

"You deserve someone who is certain, without hesitation, without doubt. Someone who can give you her whole heart without pieces missing. And it wouldn't have been fair to ask you to wait for me. All I want is for you to live freely without the burden of my uncertainty."

"Yeah..." He trailed off, his voice distant. "I understand."

He straightened his back, then leaned forward, clasping his hands together above his knees. A heavy sigh left him before he spoke. "I also realized that maybe... by telling you I'd wait, I was putting too much pressure on you. I see that now." He nodded slightly, more to himself than to me. "So, trust me when I say—I understand."

But the way his fingers tightened, the way his shoulders curled inward... I knew understanding didn't make it hurt any less.

He turned his gaze to me, and there was a softness in his eyes that made it even worse.

Because he wasn't angry.

He wasn't bitter.

And that only broke my heart even more.

"I've always seen you as a strong person, Sara," he said, his voice achingly tender. "I watched you break, and I watched you pull the pieces of yourself back together. And somehow, you came out even stronger."

He exhaled softly, his lips curving into the faintest, softest smile. "And I'm proud of you."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "Archie..."

"I also realized that I was far too overprotective of you. And that's not good. I was holding on too tightly, making you dependent on me when, instead, I should have trusted you to stand on your own."

Silence stretched between us, heavy and fragile all at once.

"So, I'm going to leave, Sara. I'm giving you the space to breathe, to grow, to stand on your own. I want you to have the pride of knowing that everything you achieved is because of you and you alone. Because I believe in you. And you're already doing so great."

"Thank you." The words trembled as they left me. "Thank you for always being there for me."

Archie's gaze lingered on me for a moment—soft, filled with a quiet sorrow. But there was something else there, too. Conviction. A decision made.

My sobs were coming harder now, my chest aching in a way I couldn't understand.

Why did it hurt so much? Why did it feel like my heart had been shattered beyond repair? Like I was going to lose him forever. Like he was never coming back to me.

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