It had only been a few hours since you broke up with your boyfriend, but he wasn't just your boyfriend. He was your home, the love of your life, your best friend ever since the two of you were in middle school—and now, you lost him.

You felt like your world had ended—your heart aching like it was being torn into pieces.

You were lying on your bed, scrolling through your social media account—trying to distract yourself by reposting things. That’s when you received a message. Someone replied to your repost, which was captioned: "It's so difficult to move on, lol."

"Use me."

You were so shocked by the message that you immediately sat up straight and replied with a simple:

"What?"

He replied within seconds.

"Use me so you can move on." "You can use me in the meantime so you can move on, make me your rebound and backburner to move on. Then once that person is finally back, you can leave me. :))"

Well—that happened months ago. And now? You’re with him.

He made you feel safe. Happy. Seen. Loved in a way that felt easy. Like breathing.

Eventually, you moved on from your past. The pain didn’t disappear overnight, but with him—healing didn't feel so impossible.

And somewhere along the way… you started to fall for him.

At first, you thought it was just gratitude. Just comfort. A part of you wanted to deny it. But the feelings grew stronger, deeper—more real than you ever expected.

So you made a plan. You’d confess. Tell him how he made you feel. How it wasn’t about forgetting someone else anymore—it was about choosing him.

But then… you saw him.

He was laughing with another girl.

And your heart sank.

She was leaning into him like she belonged there. His smile—the one that made you feel special—was now being shared with someone else.

And just like that, all your courage disappeared. You turned around before he could even see you, but he did—and later that night, he messaged you.

“Hey, I saw you earlier. Why didn’t you say hi?”

You hesitated. Then replied.

“You seemed busy.”

And his reply came fast—soft, concerned, and laced with something a little deeper.

“That was my cousin.” “Were you okay?” “You left so fast... I didn’t know what happened.” “Honestly, I kept looking for you.” “It’s stupid, but... I light up every time I see you.”

You stared at your screen, breath catching. Then another message came through.

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but... I missed you today.” “More than I should’ve, probably.”