The house was quiet. Ria sat by the window, wrapped in a soft cardigan Grandma had given her. Outside, the rain hadn’t stopped — like her heart hadn’t either.
Grandma
Drink this, dear. Ginger tea. Good for your body… and your soul.
Grandma
*giving her a cup*
Ria
*receiving the cup with hesitation*
Ria
Thank you… You’re very kind to me.
Grandma
*sigh*
Grandma
You remind me of myself, long ago. Fell in love with a man who didn’t deserve me either.
Ria tried to smile, but it cracked at the edges.
Ria
*lowering head*
Ria
I really thought Sid loved me. I left everything behind for him. My family… my safety. But to him, I was just a village girl. A phase.
Behind the door, Liam stood frozen. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But her words hit him like punches in the ribs.
Ria
He said I was “too plain”… That I didn’t fit in his world.
Grandma
Foolish boy. He’ll regret it the rest of his life.
Ria
I don’t know where I’ll go now. I don’t have a home anymore…
A quiet sob escaped her lips. Liam’s hand, still on the doorknob, tightened. That familiar ache in his chest — he hadn’t felt it since the day Daisy first cried.
He walked away silently.
Later that night…
Liam
*Texting Joel*
Liam
She left home for that bastard?
Joel
Yup. Crazy in love, huh?
Liam
…No. Just loyal to the wrong man.
Joel
Wait… why are you asking?
Liam
No reason.
But there was. A flicker of something he couldn’t name yet.
She was wounded. Brave. And far more than “plain.”
And for the first time… Liam wanted to know what it would feel like to be the man she ran towards — not the one she ran from.
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