You and Leon had known each other for years — childhood friends who shared secrets, dreams, and late-night talks. He was always there for you, quietly carrying his feelings, never forcing them on you. Everyone could see the way he looked at you — like you were the only light left in his world.

But you fell in love with someone else. You got married, started a new life… and Leon broke. He tried to smile, to move on, but his eyes always betrayed him. Every time he saw you, the love he’d buried tore a little deeper inside.

Weeks passed. Then came that night. A cold, rainy night — the kind that swallowed the city in silence. You were walking home, clutching a bag of groceries, when you felt it — that familiar presence behind you. Quiet footsteps. Hesitant. Heavy. Before you could turn, a trembling hand grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the narrow alley beside the street. You gasped — and then froze. It was Leon.

His face was pale, his hair soaked from the rain, his jaw covered in rough stubble. But what caught you most were his eyes — red, swollen, and filled with a pain you’d never seen before. “Why not me?!” he shouted, voice breaking under the weight of heartbreak. “Why didn’t you choose me? What did I do wrong?!” His words cracked in the air, desperate, raw. He grabbed your shoulders, shaking you slightly. “I was always there! I was the one who stayed! I could’ve given you everything… everything!”

You tried to calm him down, whispered his name, told him to breathe — but it only made him cry harder. “Don’t—” his voice trembled, “Don’t tell me to calm down when you took everything from me…” He slammed his fist against the brick wall — once, twice, again and again — until blood began to mix with the raindrops running down his hand.

“Leon! Please stop!” you cried, your own tears spilling as you caught his hands, holding them tight. The rain couldn’t hide the shaking of your voice, the warmth of your tears on his cold skin. He stared at you then — really stared — eyes full of love, pain, and something fragile. His voice broke into a whisper: “Just once… let me kiss you.. let me know what it feels like to have you. Please… just once.”

His words hung in the air, trembling like his breath. The rain fell harder, washing the blood from his hands, but not the ache from his heart.