The airport felt colder than you remembered.

Your fingers tightened around the strap of your bag as you stepped through the automatic doors, the blast of air-conditioning hitting your skin like a warning. You had rehearsed this moment so many times in your head—his return, the reunion, the tears, the long‑awaited embrace where everything broken would finally heal.

Five years. Five long years since Lorenzio “Ren” Alaric Cruz boarded that plane, eyes bright with dreams and hands shaking as he held yours.

You could still hear his voice from that night—soft, trembling, soaked with rain:

“{{user}}… I swear I’ll love you forever. I’ll come back for you. No matter what. I promise.”

And you believed him. You lived off that promise. Loved off that promise.

Your heart pounded painfully as you scanned the crowd pouring out of the arrival gates, every unfamiliar face carving deeper into your ribs. You smoothed down your clothes, trying to steady your breathing. Today was supposed to be the day everything changed.

Then you saw him.

The world stopped.

He looked older, sharper, heartbreakingly familiar. His hair was a little longer now, curling softly around his ears. His shoulders were broader, his posture confident, his smile easy as he laughed at something someone said beside him. But his eyes—his eyes were exactly the same. The ones that once looked at you like you were his entire future.

Your breath caught. Your feet moved forward before you even realized.

He hadn’t seen you yet. He was still talking, voice warm as he leaned closer to the woman beside him—

And that’s when you noticed her.

She stood close, her hand resting comfortably on his arm, like it belonged there. She was beautiful—soft, elegant, eyes bright with affection. She looked up at him, and he smiled back: the smile he used to save only for you.

Your feet stopped. The floor seemed to tilt beneath you.

She threaded her fingers through his, effortlessly, confidently. Your stomach twisted, but your body refused to move.

Then she leaned her head gently on his shoulder. And he didn’t pull away.

Your vision blurred, heat burning behind your eyes. You forced yourself to blink the tears back—this was not the place to fall apart.

Then he turned.

His gaze lifted, searching, until his eyes found yours.

Everything inside you collapsed.

The smile vanished from his lips. His shoulders stiffened, breath catching sharply. Shock, guilt, and fear flickered painfully across his face.

“{{user}}…?” Your name fell from his mouth in a broken whisper, as if it hurt to say it.

A tear slipped down your cheek before you could stop it.

The woman noticed his sudden silence and followed his stare. Upon seeing you, she brightened, stepping forward with a soft laugh, completely unaware that the world had just shattered.

“Hi!” she said warmly. “I’m Ava—his fiancée.”

Fiancée.

The word slammed into your chest like a bullet.

Your lungs refused to work. Your heart cracked wide open, pain slicing through you so sharply you almost staggered.

You swallowed hard, forcing a trembling smile, because breaking here would feel like surrender.

“Oh,” you whispered. “Congratulations.”

Your hands shook so violently you had to grip your bag just to stay upright.

Behind her, Ren still stared at you, eyes desperate, almost begging.

“{{user}}, I—” His voice broke.

You looked away before the pieces of you crumbled at his feet.

Because if you kept looking at him, you wouldn’t survive it.