I found the ring in his drawer.
Not mine.
Hers.
Melissa's engagement ring.
The same one he gave her when he still believed in forever with someone else.
I stared at it for a long time, my fingers trembling. It was beautiful, flawless, heavy with history.
Adrian walked in behind me.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
My voice was cold. "Why are you keeping it?"
He hesitated. "Because I never got to return it."
"You kept it," I said, "because you couldn't let her go."
He stepped forward. "That's not true."
"Then throw it away."
Silence.
I turned and walked out.
---
I sat on the balcony that night, wrapped in a blanket, watching the city lights blur behind my tears.
He didn't follow me.
That hurt more than the ring.
---
The next morning, Melissa showed up at our gate — again.
"Don't you get tired?" I asked.
"Of bothering you? Never," she smiled sweetly.
"You already lost. Go."
Her smile faded. "You think you've won?"
"I know I have."
She tilted her head. "Then why are you shaking?"
I realized… I was.
And I hated that she saw it.
---
Adrian found me later in the garden.
He sat down beside me without speaking.
"I asked you to throw it away," I said.
He pulled something from his pocket.
It wasn't the ring.
It was ashes.
"I burned it," he said. "It meant nothing."
I looked at him, surprised.
He looked tired. Honest.
"I kept it because I was afraid of forgetting her," he admitted. "But I realize now… forgetting her is the best thing I could do."
"And me?" I asked, voice barely a whisper.
"I'm trying to remember who I am with you."
I didn't say anything.
I just reached for his hand.
And this