THE WEIGHT OF FIFTEEN YEARS
The sand was cold beneath Fay's feet, a sharp contrast to the fire still burning on her lips. She didn't have to turn around to know Kei had followed her. The air seemed to shift, growing heavy with the scent of sandalwood and the ocean breeze.
Fay felt a presence behind her. She turned slowly, her hair whipping across her face in the wind. There stood Kei. The powerful CEO looked smaller out here, her silk robe fluttering, her eyes reflecting the moonlight.
They stood in a long, heavy silence. They just stared at each other a look that held ten years of unspoken questions, thousands of lonely nights, and the echo of the kiss they had just shared.
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.
.
"I love you,"
Kei said. Her voice was barely a whisper, but it cut through the sound of the waves.
"For the past fifteen years, Fay… I have always loved you."
Fay let out a sharp, bitter laugh, her eyes filling with angry tears.
"You love me? You have a strange way of showing it, Kei."
"I'm serious,"
Kei stepped closer, her expression desperate.
"If you loved me,"
Fay snapped, her voice trembling,
"you wouldn't have disappeared. You wouldn't have ghosted me for a decade. You wouldn't have left me wondering what I did wrong every single day for fifteen years! Love doesn't leave, Kei. Love doesn't go silent."
Fay couldn't look at her anymore. The pain was too sharp. She turned her back to Kei, staring out at the dark horizon of the Sea, trying to harden her heart again. She ignored the sound of Kei's footsteps in the sand.
.
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Suddenly, Fay felt a pair of arms wrap firmly around her waist.
Kei pulled her back against her chest, burying her face in the crook of Fay's neck.
Fay gasped, her body stiffening in shock. The warmth of Kei's body was overwhelming, a sudden shield against the cold night wind.
"Let go,"
Fay croaked, grabbing Kei's forearms and trying to pry them off.
"Kei, stop it! Let me go!"
She struggled, twisting her body to break the hold, but Kei wouldn't budge. Kei was strong, her grip certain and desperate, as if she were holding onto the only thing keeping her alive.
.
.
.
After a minute of fighting, Fay's strength left her. The exhaustion of the trip, the "ghosts" in the house, and the years of carrying her heartbreak finally became too much. Her arms dropped to her sides and she slumped back against Kei, giving up.
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.
.
Kei didn't loosen her grip. She held Fay even tighter, her voice muffled against Fay's skin, shaky and broken.
"I love you,"
Kei whispered again.
"I love you so much. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Fay."
Drip.
Fay felt something wet hit her shoulder Kei was crying.
"I'm sorry for every day I wasn't there,"
Kei sobbed, her words repeating like a prayer.
"I'm sorry for being a coward. I'm sorry for the silence. Please… I love you. I never stopped."
.
.
Fay stood there, held captive in the arms of the woman she hated and loved all at once. She didn't say it back and she didn't move, but for the first time in fifteen years, the cold stone around her heart began to show a tiny, flickering crack.