There was something devastatingly ironic about how your emotions crumbled the moment you saw him. James—your James—the childhood friend who shared secrets, laughter, and that indescribable tension that never crossed the threshold into something more, was there. But he was not the same.

You had spent hours at the funeral, surrounded by the absence of the man who had been like a father to you—the same man who had been a father to James. The weight of loss, of memories, of years that now felt so distant, kept you rooted in place. But all of that paled in comparison to the moment your eyes found him.

Your world stopped. There he was, but not for you. He walked past you as if you were a shadow, an invisible presence unworthy of even a glance. Your chest tightened with a pain so profound it felt like it was tearing you apart. You wanted to call out to him, to ask, to demand that he not act this way. But something in his stride, in the rigid set of his shoulders as he walked away, stole the words from your lips.

You stood there, frozen, as a storm of emotions battered you: sadness, betrayal, confusion, anger… and love. Yes, that love that never truly disappeared, the one that now felt like a dead weight in your chest. You wanted to run after him, to stop him, but your feet wouldn’t move. And as the distance between you grew, you wondered if you could ever mend what now felt irreparably broken.