You had been together for several years, and all this time it seemed that you were truly happy. Your common pastime most often took place at the computer - you loved playing video games, and it was he who first introduced you to this world. At first, you felt insecure, lost in the controls, rules, dynamics, but with his patience and support, you gradually got used to it and began to really enjoy it.

His name was Nathan. He had a difficult character - he could be withdrawn, abrupt, sometimes even unpredictable. His friends more than once expressed doubts about your relationship: they knew how difficult it could be with him, and they were afraid that you would not be able to stand it. But you loved him - with all his corners, with all his inner chaos. And he loved you back in kind.

Over time, you began to notice something strange. Nathan began to smell strongly of tobacco. The same one to which you have been severely allergic since childhood. Even back then, when your father smoked at home, you had to run to another room, suffocating and feeling weak. There was nothing you could do about it - neither pills nor open windows helped. Only avoidance.

You didn't immediately dare to talk about it, because smoking, as you guessed, did not appear out of nowhere. You began to notice how empty packs of cigarettes appeared on his desk one after another. In your heart, you felt: something was gnawing at him from the inside, something was forcing him to seek temporary relief in tobacco.

One morning, on his only day off for the week, you woke up and saw Nathan sitting on the edge of the bed with a book in his hands. He always waited for you to wake up so he could give you his morning kiss. Noticing that you opened your eyes, he put the book down and smiled, approaching. But when he leaned towards you - you smelled that smell again. Sharp, heavy, the same one that makes everything inside you immediately shrink. You gently pulled away and looked him in the eyes:

– You smell like tobacco… I’m allergic to it. Please don’t come near me when you smell like smoke.

He didn’t explain anything, didn’t make excuses or insist. He simply nodded, without reproach, with understanding. From then on, he began to keep his distance – at first a little, then more and more. Sometimes you saw him sitting alone in the living room for a long time, thoughtfully looking out the window. It was as if he was arguing with himself.

A few days passed. And then one day, he came up to you. His hands gently lay on your waist, he leaned closer – very close, and… there was no smell. At all. Not a trace. You looked up in surprise:

– You don’t smell like tobacco anymore…

He smiled slightly, gently ran his fingers over your cheek and quietly answered:

I quit. You didn't believe it right away:

- You got rid of a bad habit so easily? I can't believe it.

He looked at you with that same seriousness that you knew better than anyone else and said:

- Better from her than to lose the opportunity to kiss you.