"There's nothing I can say to justify what you've just seen," Leon said while walking towards me.
I went silent for a minute. I guess I was overdoing this.
He had told me clearly about her, and I agreed. He asked me to give him a little time to let her go.
Leon could barely say a word after. His facial expression gave him away. I guess he wasn't expecting her to send that text too.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched your phone," I said calmly.
"No, baby, you don't have to be sorry about taking my phone. I'm sorry you had to see that. I should have fixed it already," he replied.
"We had a good time together, and with my hormones on the rise, this wasn't what I planned to see to start my morning," I stated.
"I'm sorry. I don't love her, and we barely even communicate. It's been a month since we last spoke, and honestly, I didn't think she was going to send a text now or call," Leon tried explaining.
"It's fine. I agreed to be with you because you're willing to let her go. I feel it's even wrong for us to start something without you and her being completely over. I'm not being jealous here, I'm just mad, and I feel like the other woman. I feel like your side chick," I bluntly said.
"Please don't say that. I'm not trying to make promises here, but I guess it's wrong of me to date you and not let her go yet. I'm not trying to blame you. I thought you were going to take some days to agree while I figure out a way to let her go officially," Leon said with all the innocence I could find in his eyes.
"I don't doubt the fact that you love me. I just doubt the fact that you'd ever let her go. You loved her so much. I prayed then that Michael could love me as much as you did with her. I didn't think it would be easy for you to let her go," I replied.
"Please don't say that. I know it shouldn't be this easy on you, but please give me time. A little time and trust me on this," Leon said, placing his hands on my cheeks and looking deeply into my eyes.
The whole of me wanted to believe him, but the little percent of doubt hovering from my terrible experience wouldn't let me give out all my trust completely.
"Babe, please," Leon said again.
"Fine, I'll give you a little time," I replied.
"Thank you. I promise not to fail," Leon said, and he kissed my forehead.
"Well, I made breakfast. Let me change and quickly join you," I replied, trying to ease the tension in the air. I pecked his cheek and dashed straight to his restroom.
While having breakfast, I started a conversation about what he loves doing.
"What are you most passionate about doing in all the things you do? I mean, the Web3 thing, learning animation, I also noticed you're into songwriting. And how do you even deal with the night club shifts and all this?" I asked, eating the last bite of my pancake.
Leon leaned back, studying me like I had just asked something dangerous.
"Passionate?" He let out a breath.
"Freedom."He folded his arms.
"Web3 is freedom from control, animation is freedom to create worlds and songwriting is freedom to say things I wouldn't say out loud."
He tilted his head slightly.
"The club just funds the freedom."
Then he smirked.
"Sleep is negotiable but dreams aren't."
He gently sipped his coffee back like he didn't just say something really cool.
I've known Leon to be very ambitious with big dreams. One time he told me,
"It may be slow now, but I know I'm not meant to be a failure. I will be whatever I want to be."
Those words were glued to my brain. Leon isn't just a dreamer, he prepares his way toward it.
"You're a man who multitasks. Do you ever get tired?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away. His thumb traced the rim of his mug slowly, like he was measuring the weight of the question.
"Of course I get tired."His voice was calm and just real.
"Sometimes it feels like I'm running on fumes, watching people my age blow up overnight. Crypto hits, viral art, lucky breaks."
Leon gave a short, humorless smile.
"And I'm still stacking shifts at a club."
He looked at me, steady and not ashamed.
"But slow doesn't mean wrong."
A small pause.
"I'd rather build something that lasts than rush into something that collapses."His jaw tightened slightly.
"The journey only feels slow when you're comparing it to someone else's timeline."
Then softer, almost to himself, "I'm not behind. I'm building."
And he took another sip of coffee like that settled it.
"You're so confident and I love it. It's like you're living in the manifestation of what is to come," I replied, looking at him like I could tap some of that confidence.
"Have you ever felt or thought that all the things I say sound like I'm bluffing?" he asked, looking at me intensely.
"I may likely be a dreamer myself, so I don't ever see it as bluffing. Believing in you makes it easier to believe in my dreams," I replied.
"Is studying business or being a businesswoman what you truly want?" he asked.
I didn't expect the question to be thrown at me. I've never truly known what I like.
Leon's question lingered longer than it should. I let out a small laugh, but it felt thin.
"I don't know."
I looked down at my plate, tracing tiny pieces of pancake with my fork.
"Business makes sense. It's safe. It's quite impressive when you say it out loud and it's easy to create a career out of it," I swallowed.
"But I don't think it's what makes me feel alive."
"I like writing," my voice softened, almost like it was a secret.
"Not the spotlight kind. I don't want stages or interviews or my face on covers. I just like building stories, hiding inside them and letting other people shine."
I glanced up at him carefully.
"I think I'd rather be the mind behind the voice than the voice itself."
I let out a small shrug.
"I guess I've always been more comfortable being invisible," I finally said.
"Why haven't I seen any piece yet? And you've never mentioned it," Leon said with surprise on his face.
"I buried them like I always do. I don't think it's worth being out there yet," I replied with less confidence.
His brows pulled together slightly. He leaned forward, elbows resting lightly on the table.
"Worth according to who?" he asked, his voice not sharp but steady.
"You? Or the imaginary crowd in your head?"
I shifted in my seat. Whatever he was saying was slowly getting to me.
He exhaled softly, running a hand over his jaw.
"You can't talk about believing in dreams and then suffocate yours before they breathe."
That landed where it should have.
His tone lowered.
"You think I wake up confident every day? Half the time I'm building in silence, wondering if anyone will ever care."His eyes locked with mine.
"The difference is I let it exist anyway."
"You don't bury something unless you're scared of what it could become."
Then softer,
"You don't strike me as someone meant to live invisible, Grace."
"Looks can be deceptive, you know," I replied.
"It's only deceptive when you're scared of failing. Do you see yourself as a failure?" Leon asked.
He tilted his head slightly, studying me like I had just revealed more than I meant to.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "They can."
A small pause.
"Confident people look fearless, ambitious people look unshakable and quiet people?"
His gaze softened just a little."They look like they don't want to be seen."
The air between us shifted.
He leaned back, but his eyes didn't leave mine.
"But invisibility isn't a personality trait, Grace. It's a defense mechanism."
That landed deeper than I expected.
He exhaled softly.
"You don't hide because you're small. You hide because you think being seen is risky."
Another pause.
"You've stripped me of everything I've been hiding for long," I replied, finally giving up.
Leon face got closer slow and intentional. His fingers brushed a strand of hair away from my face before resting lightly against my jaw.
"You're my woman now," he said quietly.
"I'm not building confidence for you. I'm reminding you of what fear tried to erase."
My breath caught.
"You don't belong in the shadows, Grace. Not in your writing, not in your life and definitely not beside me."
Something inside me shifted, softened and almost surrendered.
A man who builds his woman and doesn't let her become a shadow of herself.
Leon keeps being more than I imagined but somewhere deep inside me. A quiet voice whispered.
What if promises are the easiest things to make
and the hardest things to keep?