Mia's POV
The second Liam spoke, my body reacted before my brain could catch up.
"Mia," he said, voice low, steady, the same warmth I remembered, "I know I left before. I know I hurt you. But I still… I still love you."
The words hit me like stones. Sharp. Cold. And yet… they warmed something deep inside me I hadn't dared to touch in years.
I froze.
Years of grief, confusion, heartbreak, and hope—all tangled into a single knot—tightened in my chest. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. My past—the boy I used to trust with everything—was standing in my living room, speaking my name like it was the only thing that mattered in the world.
Ace, across the room, shifted. He didn't say anything yet, but I felt him. That tension radiating off him, like a warning, like a storm ready to break. I couldn't look at him. I couldn't look anywhere.
Lily and James, meanwhile, were frozen in the background, watching the room's energy become a powder keg. Lily's hands were clenched into fists at her sides. James's jaw was tight, every muscle poised as though he might intervene physically if needed.
I took a shaky step backward. "Liam… I…" My voice cracked, words failing me.
He stepped forward, careful, cautious, but the light in his eyes—pleading, soft, relentless—made my knees threaten to give way. "Mia. Please. Just hear me out. I never stopped thinking about you. I know I messed up before, and I—"
Ace's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "You don't deserve her, Liam."
The words weren't angry—they were firm, protective, unyielding.
I flinched at the sound of Ace's tone. His presence, his posture, the controlled intensity of him—it always had this effect on me. My heart skipped a beat, and part of me wanted to run into him. Another part—another, irrational part—wanted to run away. Far away.
Liam flinched slightly, his eyes widening. "Excuse me?"
"You don't deserve her," Ace repeated, stepping closer. "You walked away before. You hurt her. You left her. And now you come back expecting… what? That she'll just forgive and forget? That she owes you something? She doesn't. You don't."
My stomach twisted. Part of me was relieved, comforted even, by Ace's defense. Part of me hated him in that moment. Hated that he sounded like he owned me. Hated that he had the right to feel this way. Hated that I loved him for caring this much.
Lily stepped forward, placing a hand on Ace's arm. "Okay, chill. We're not going to start a fight. Mia, you have to speak now."
James nodded. "Yeah. This… situation is spiraling. You need to tell him what you feel."
I shook my head, unable to speak. Words felt like knives in my throat. I felt like crying. I felt like running. I felt like screaming. I felt all at once betrayed by my own heart.
Liam took a hesitant step closer, and my chest tightened. "Mia, please… I know I hurt you. But I never stopped loving you. And if there's even a chance—"
"You're asking her to risk everything again!" Ace snapped, jaw tight, eyes flashing. "Do you have any idea what it felt like to watch you leave her?"
Liam's expression shifted, hurt flashing across his face. "Ace… I—"
"I don't care," Ace interrupted. "You don't get to hurt her again. You don't get to walk back in expecting forgiveness. You… just… leave."
The room went tense. Lily exhaled slowly. James muttered something under his breath. And all I could feel was my heart hammering in my chest, threatening to burst.
"Mia," Liam said again, softer this time, "I came here because I couldn't leave things unsaid. Because I needed you to know… I never stopped loving you. I don't want to take anything from you. I just…" His voice faltered, a tremor in the raw honesty of it. "…I needed you to hear it from me."
I felt tears prick at my eyes, but I blinked them back. Part of me wanted to collapse into him. Part of me wanted to vanish. And somewhere beneath it all, part of me wanted to throw up my hands and scream at both of them.
Ace's gaze never left me. His chest rose and fell sharply as he measured every nuance, every heartbeat. "You okay?" he asked, quieter this time, but still firm.
I shook my head. "I… I need to be alone."
"You're not going anywhere," Ace said, stepping closer, and the protective instinct in his body language screamed louder than his words.
"Yes, I am," I said, my voice trembling. "I can't… I can't do this right now. I need… I need space."
Lily stepped forward, placing a hand gently on my shoulder. "Mia, you can't keep running from everything, but… okay. You need space. Go. Just… go."
James nodded in agreement, not saying a word but clearly signaling support.
I backed away, fumbling for my coat, my shoes, my keys. I felt like I was moving through a dream, like the room was a slow-motion scene and every glance from Liam and Ace and Lily and James was magnified a thousand times.
Liam reached out a hand. "Mia…"
I shook my head, tears brimming. "I… I can't!"
And then I fled.
The city air hit me like fire. Cold. Sharp. Real.
I walked without direction, letting my legs carry me away from my apartment, from Ace, from Liam, from the weight of expectations and emotions I wasn't ready to handle. My chest felt tight. My lungs burned. My mind spun in dizzying circles.
Liam followed at a distance, calling my name softly, carefully, like he was afraid if he shouted he might break me.
Ace trailed closer behind, protective and tense, ready to shield me from anything—including Liam if it came to that.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, Lily and James were probably ready to intervene if the situation went sideways.
I didn't care.
I only cared about escaping the storm inside me.
The tears fell freely now, unchecked. The city passed by in blurred shapes and colors. Cars honked. People laughed. Lights glimmered. Nothing touched me. Nothing mattered.
I didn't know where I was going.
I didn't know if I could ever stop running.
But for a moment, that didn't matter.
All that mattered was the desperate, confusing, impossible pull in my chest—torn between the boy I once loved, the man who had protected me through the worst night of my life, and the friends who refused to leave me in pieces.
And I was afraid I would never be able to reconcile any of it.
I stopped in the middle of an empty street, my coat damp from the light drizzle beginning to fall. I pressed my hands to my face, and my knees buckled, and I let the sobs come.
I didn't hear them approaching at first.
Liam's voice, soft, pleading, careful.
Ace's voice, firm, commanding, unwavering.
Lily and James's footsteps, rapid, following close behind.
I didn't care.
Not yet.
Not until I could breathe again.