It had been a week of being in a healthy relationship with Leon, but we didn't get to meet after the weekend I left his place.
He had to take most of the shifts at the club to cover for a colleague who was sick. I was also getting busy with school and preparation for exams.
Life was just busy.
But Leon still made sure he was present. He would send me flowers, send me lunch, and he never went a day without talking to me.
Even if it was just checking up on me through texts or voice notes. It made the distance feel softer.
It was Saturday and I was bored. I had been avoiding my friends. We still meet in school but I barely stuck around for long. I still hadn't gotten over the whole engagement thing, and I hated pretending. Maybe when I got more comfortable with everything, I would apologize for being distant.
I was done reading the book Leon got me, and I couldn't help but think about him and maybe spending another weekend with him.
We spoke in the morning and he mentioned being home for the weekend.
So I decided to call, just to be on the safer side.
I called and it kept ringing, and I almost gave up on him picking up and then he picked.
"Hey babe, I was just about to call," he said.
"I got bored and I could only think of you. You're back?" I asked.
"Yeah, I just got back," Leon replied. "I was hoping I could come see you after I shower."
"Oh really?" I asked while smiling even though he couldn't see me.
"Yeah, or am I not allowed to visit you in your room?" he asked playfully.
"Sure you can," I replied. "I haven't gotten a new roommate yet, so you can even spend the night too."
"Alright," he said. "Let me jump in the shower and then I'll come see you."
The call ended.
But something else crossed my mind.
I liked surprises.So maybe I should surprise him instead.
I quickly dressed and packed a few things in case I slept over.
So I picked up lunch. Grilled chicken, fries, and that strawberry milkshake he always says is too sweet but always finishes anyway.
Then I drove to his place. When I got to his place, I didn't have to knock to ruin my surprise.
I had a spare key he gave me when he dropped me off at my dorm a week ago.
I smiled to myself while unlocking the door. I tiptoed inside and didn't see him around.
I guessed he must have been showering.
I set the food on the table, taking my time arranging it. I was excited and also nervous. I didn't know how he was going to react to seeing me in his apartment, but I couldn't change anything now. I was already there.
I had just taken the milkshake out of the bag when there was a knock on the door.
I paused.
Was Leon expecting anyone?
He told me he was free this weekend.
I walked to the door and opened it.
There she stood like she had been here before.
Pretty, thick, full of class, just like her pictures.
"Hi," she said, her voice calm. "Is Leon home?"
My throat went dry for a second.
"He's in the shower."
She nodded slowly like that made sense.
"Oh. I'll wait."
Wait?
Before I could process it properly, she stepped inside. That was when the jealousy started creeping in.
"Do you live here?" she asked casually, her eyes drifting to the food on the table.
"No," I said. "I was just…"
I didn't finish.
Leon walked out of the bathroom then, towel around his neck, hair wet, phone in his hand.
He was typing , probably texting me.
He looked up and froze.
His eyes went to her first.
"Gina?"
Then to me. Then back to her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, and his voice wasn't soft.
Gina crossed her arms slightly. "You've been avoiding me."
Leon dropped his hand to his side. "I haven't been avoiding you."
"For three months?" she shot back. "You barely answer my calls. You don't come around anymore. You act like I did something."
The room went quiet.
I didn't speak. I just watched him.
Leon ran a hand through his damp hair, clearly trying to stay calm.
"You did," he said.
Gina frowned. "Did what?"
He looked at her for a long moment.
"It's about Daniel."
The name changed her face, not confusion but fear.
"What about Daniel?" she asked quickly.
Leon's jaw tightened just a little.
"You really want to pretend right now?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do."
Her breathing shifted.
"Leon, if this is about me hanging out with him then you're thinking wrong"
"It's about you sleeping with him." He just said it.
Gina went pale.
For a second, she looked like she might deny it again.
"That was…" she started, then stopped. "That was a mistake."
I felt my chest tighten, even though I already knew this story. Hearing it in real time felt different.
"A mistake?" Leon repeated quietly. "You don't accidentally cheat with someone I know and expect me to believe it was a mistake."
"It didn't mean anything," she said, voice shaking. "It just happened." Gina replied.
"It just happened?" he asked. "You texted him for weeks and even when you were still with me."
Silence.
"You went through my phone?" she asked defensively.
"I didn't plan to," Leon replied. "You were texting him while you were with me. His messages popped up."
Gina looked like she wanted to disappear.
"You should have told me you knew," she whispered.
"You should have told me you did it," he answered.
That hit harder than anything else.
She looked at me.
"Who is she?" Gina asked.
Leon didn't hesitate."She's someone I'm seeing."
Gina blinked.
"So that's what this is? You found someone new and needed an excuse?"
"No," he said calmly. "I started drifting before her. I pulled away because I couldn't look at you the same."
Her voice cracked. "You stayed."
"Yeah," he admitted. "Because two years felt like too much to throw away. I kept hoping I would feel different."
"And?" she asked.
"And I didn't." Leon replied.
Silence.
"You were just going to keep acting distant?" she asked.
"I needed time to accept that it was over," he said. "Not because I stopped loving you overnight, but because I couldn't trust you anymore."
Tears filled her eyes.
"You're choosing her?" she asked softly.
Leon didn't even look at me when he answered.
"Yes."
"You'll regret this," she said, trying to hold herself together.
Leon shook his head slightly.
"I already regret staying as long as I did."
That was it.She grabbed her bag and walked out.
The door closed quietly.
The door had been closed for almost five minutes, but it still felt like Gina was still in the room.
I didn't realize I was just staring at nothing until Leon touched my hand.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
"Yeah," I said quickly. "Just… processing."
He nodded like he understood.
"I should have ended it properly when I found out," he added quietly. "I just didn't know how to let go of something that used to mean so much."
That honesty made it harder to be jealous.
"You were with her for two years," I said. "That doesn't just disappear."
"It doesn't," he agreed. "But it changed."
Silence settled between us, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Just heavy in a soft way.
He glanced at the table and asked"You brought all this?"
"Yeah," I shrugged. "I figured you'd be tired."
He looked at me differently then softer. Like he was really seeing me.
"You didn't have to," he said.
"I wanted to," I replied.
He quickly went to dress properly while I stayed in the living room. We ate quietly at first. Small talk, nothing heavy almost like we were both pretending the last twenty minutes didn't just happen.
But it still lingered, After a while, I leaned back in my chair.
"She didn't know you knew all this months" I said again.
"No," he replied. "I wanted to see if she would ever be honest on her own."
"And if she was?" I asked.
He paused for a moment.
"Maybe I would have respected her more. But I still wouldn't have stayed."
That made my chest warm in a quiet way.
I hesitated before asking the question that had been sitting in my chest.
"Are you sure this isn't just rebound energy?"
He looked at me immediately."Grace."
"I'm serious," I said. "You just ended something officially today. I don't want to be the distraction while you're healing."
He was quiet for a second, then he stood up and walked around the table until he was standing in front of me.
"You're not a distraction," he said gently. "You're the only thing that has felt clear in months."
My heart softened without permission.
"But this is fast," I whispered.
He exhaled slowly like he had been holding something inside him.
"I was actually going to talk to you about something before she showed up."
That made me look up immediately.
"What?" I asked.
He hesitated, that alone made my stomach flip.
"I've been thinking," he started carefully, "about how much we don't get to see each other."
I blinked. "Okay…"
"And you said you don't even have a roommate right now."
My pulse quickened.
Leon ran a hand over the back of his neck, suddenly looking less confident than usual.
"I don't want you feeling like you have to go back to an empty room every time you leave here," he said. "Not when you don't have to."
I stared at him.
"Leon…"
"I'm not saying tomorrow," he added quickly. "I'm not rushing you. I just…" He stopped and looked at me properly.
"What would you think about moving in with me?"
The words didn't hit immediately.
Move in, with him.
My heart started racing.
"Leon," I said slowly, "we've only…"
"I know," he cut in softly. "But I've never been more sure about something."
That scared me. Not in a bad way just in a real, honest way.
"You just closed a two-year chapter today," I whispered. "And now you're asking me to start a new one in the same room."
He didn't flinch.
"I closed that chapter months ago," he said. "Today was just the confirmation."
Silence stretched between us.
I searched his face for doubt, there wasn't any I could only see hope.
"You don't have to answer now," he said quietly. "I just don't want to keep building something temporary with you."
Temporary.
That word settled deep in my chest.
Because what if this wasn't temporary?What if this was actually it?
My phone buzzed suddenly on the table, breaking the moment.
I almost ignored it until I realised it was an unknown number .
A message, no text attached only a picture.
It was a picture of I and Leon standing together after Gina left earlier taken from outside the window.
My blood ran cold and I could feel the goosebumps.
Leon noticed my expression immediately.
"What is it?" he asked.
I looked up at him slowly.
"We might have a bigger problem."