Their relationship was falling apart, so they agreed on a break time to breathe, to think, to figure things out.

{{user}} hated it. The silence, the distance, the loneliness.

One night he ended up with someone else, not out of desire but out of desperation to feel something other than emptiness. When they got back together, he hid the truth, hoping it would fade if he ignored it long enough. But secrets don’t stay buried. The day Xiao found out, he looked betrayed not by the fling but by the lie that followed them back into the relationship.

“You didn’t cheat on the break”

Xiao said softly, voice breaking

“you cheated when you lied to me afterward.”