Amara woke to the soft glow of morning light spilling through her curtains. For a moment she lay still, letting her mind drift in that thin space between sleep and reality. It was peaceful. Uncomplicated.
Then she saw her phone on the nightstand.
One message notification.
Her stomach tightened.
She already knew who it was before she reached for it.
Leo.
The man she should not be speaking to.The man she should not be thinking about.The man she should not allow any space in her life.
But the moment she saw his name, something warm and frightened fluttered through her chest.
She unlocked the phone with shaking fingers.
"Was thinking about what you said last night.Hope you found some rest."
She stared at the words.
Simple. Kind. Not crossing any lines.
Yet dangerous in a way she didn't know how to fight.
She sat up, her heart picking up speed. She should ignore it. Let it sit. Let it fade into the quiet background where strangers belonged.
But ignoring the message didn't feel like strength.It felt like lying.
She placed the phone face down on her lap and leaned forward, elbows on her knees, trying to breathe steady.
She was slipping into something she couldn't afford. Something she didn't fully understand. Something that grew every time she let him in.
This had to stop. She had to stop it.
Her phone buzzed again. A second message.
She froze.
"If today is another heavy day, don't forget to breathe.You deserve a little peace."
She closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Why did those words hit her so hard?Why did they feel like they were meant for the part of her she kept hidden from everyone else?
Because they were.
Leo spoke to the version of her that Amara barely had the courage to look at herself.
She told herself again:Do not answer.Do not feed this.Do not open that door any wider.
She stood up abruptly, as if movement would break the temptation. She went to the kitchen, made herself tea she didn't want, paced the room twice, then sat on the couch and stared at the wall.
She should not answer.
She should delete the message.
She should protect her engagement.
She should protect her future.
But when she picked up her phone again, her thumb moved before her sense did.
"Thank you. I'm trying."
The second the message sent, she felt her pulse jump with panic.
No.Why did she do that?Why couldn't she stop herself?
She dropped the phone beside her and pulled her knees close, trying to quiet the storm inside her chest. She knew she'd made a mistake. A small one, maybe, but a mistake all the same.
She wasn't supposed to let another man care about her.Not like this.Not in a way that meant something.
Her phone buzzed.
She didn't check it right away. She didn't trust herself. She let it vibrate twice, then fall silent. After a minute passed, she picked it up with a deep breath.
Leo had responded.
"Trying is enough.You don't have to be strong every second of the day."
Her throat tightened.
Daniel had never said anything like that.Daniel believed in fixing things, planning things, arranging things.He didn't see her when she was tired.He didn't see her when she was unsure.He didn't see her at all unless she held up the right image.
But Leo saw her cracks, and he didn't look away.
She typed slowly, cautiously, feeling the pull but also the danger.
"Some days it feels like I have to be."
A pause.Three dots.Then his reply came through.
"Then those days are lying to you."
Amara pressed her hand against her mouth, holding back a sound she couldn't name. Relief mixed with guilt, forming something heavy but warm.
She was in trouble.She could feel it.Her heart was inching toward something it shouldn't.